StepMania
by Konetsu
Summary: Miku is a socially awkward girl who spends all her time playing games online. In particular, a rhythm game called StepMania. Her "friends" aren't really her friends as they don't speak outside the internet, and it discourages her. However, meeting a gentle and caring artist named Megurine Luka, who is in a similar spot, might change her for the better. NegiToro, MikixGumi, others
1. High Score

_**A/N: **_

So Moki found a game online called StepMania, and for some reason while playing this, he got an idea to make a story about, well, online gamers meeting and falling in love. We also took refuge in Santa Cruz for a bit and made the story get extended even more! :D

It's also our first (as a team) Vocaloid story! We typed it up in like, one day…and that's completely unfair to all the other things we have to work on, but…plot bunnies come and go, ya know? We also apologize for the messages being so annoyingly long, that's how we type when talking to others, it's a real bad habit.

So here you go. Enjoy reading about aweshum female gamers playing StepMania and awkwardly making it in society. The school name is a completely made up name, since we didn't want to go with 'Vocaloid High'…yeah…

**Disclaimer: **We don't own anything! Not the game, places (except for the school), amusement park rides, characters…even computer we're typing this on!

_Note: StepMania doesn't really have any of the things described here aside from having music and matching arrows. It's like DDR with your fingers and you can download music packs or individual songs to play with. We're not sure if there is any online multiplayer (we just started playing it), but we highly doubt it. There is a forum on the official website, but no chat things or leader boards; we made those up. :P_

* * *

_**StepMania**_

* * *

_**Chapter 1: High Score**_

It was relatively easy for any teenager to walk down the street into the wonders of Shinjuku to hang out with their friends, go out on dates or simply go out to enjoy the day. However, in the small apartment complex in which Hatsune Miku lived, hearing about going outside was like threatening to kill her family.

On the outside when she went to school, most students recognized her as a pretty sociable young girl who had a charming and mysterious boyfriend, and could talk to anyone; she loved shopping, singing and anything else girly girls loved. While most of it was true, those who truly knew her, knew _her_. Miku had a total of three friends: Nakajima Gumi, Furukawa Miki and Yowane Haku; all of them had met online and eventually gave enough hints to figure out who was whom. However, not one of them spoke to each other outside the digital world, which was fine by them as they couldn't find the guts to speak up; or rather, Miku knew _she_ couldn't.

They usually spent their weekends talking online, playing a popular game called StepMania and trying to beat each other's score, Miku and Haku always being tied for first place in their rounds. Miki was the most social out of them, and would always chat about the cute girls she saw in Harajuku and the guys who hit on her. It sometimes annoyed Miku even though she secretly had a crush on the girl, but made her happy knowing Miki could talk to others. Haku and Gumi were like her: silent and slightly isolated, but Haku was the only one dating someone, though nobody knew who it was. She did hint that said person was a girl, and that was it.

Today was a typical Thursday night in her apartment, her parents and older brother sleeping, thus unable to hear her continuous tapping on her keyboard. Two sets of rainbow colored arrows quickly moved up the screen like credits after a movie, going to the beat of a song loudly coming out of her headphones, the thing looking like it had taken over her head.

To her right and its side pressed tightly against the wall, her bed was still looking like nobody had used it in a while, the pale blue blankets flat without one wrinkle or crease in them, the total opposite of her computer chair right next to it, looking worn and about to fall to pieces. Her desk was new, and a shiny black with an attached bookshelf on it, holding tons of video game guides her brother stashed away and comics she read whenever she wasn't online. Her window was above her bed, the blinds shut tightly and short curtains drawn to prevent anyone walking by the building from seeing her.

Her closet was neat and orderly, even if she never really wore anything in it aside from her uniform and slippers. She didn't have a television, telling her parents she would rather watch things online, but in it's place above her dresser was an original painting of Tokyo by Megurine Luka. It was Miku's favorite thing to look at, as it was the closest she could get to see the city from a bird's eye view.

Luka wasn't a very popular artist, but the sole day Miku took a detour through a park to get home, she saw the older woman sitting with a canvas in front of her, painting. The picture of Tokyo was sitting next to her, with a price tag that was way within the young girl's budget. So, on impulse and with a bit of stuttering, she bought it.

Her computer was still the one thing that got the most attention, even if she seemed slightly obsessed with the game she played. Once it ended and declared her as the winner she smiled, sliding her keyboard out even more.

"Gumi, you always mess up at the last beats!" Miku joked aloud, typing on her silent keyboard. "Is the voltage on heavy too hard for you?"

The small square screen with the chat box blipped as the green-haired girl replied, obviously upset she was forgetful about the crazy arrows again. Miku laughed a little, brushing back her teal bangs. _If we hung out maybe I'd be able to teach her how to hit them faster. _The thought immediately made her shiver in fear a little, and she shook her head to get rid of it.

A small beep in her headphones told her Gumi had responded and she looked down at the chat bar while looking for the next song to play.

_blanciito said: Well it's not my fault I haven't had much practice! I just download easy packs, not the crazy ones like you and Haku-chan! _

An amused sigh escaped her lips and her slightly bloodshot eyes glanced at her alarm clock, the glowing red lines telling her it was way too late to sleep and too early to start getting ready for school, so she continued to type with no care in the world.

_hachuneV1 said: That's why you have to download harder ones! You'll never get better if you keep doing easy stuff, Gumi! _

_blanciito said: Yeah well, I'll see what I can do. Anyway, I can see the sun rising, so I'd better get ready for school. See you~! 3_

Gumi's username became black, indicating she was now offline, which left Miku alone with about seven other players, six already in a match. She scrolled down to see who was left when a popup appeared, the player wanting to challenge her.

"Kamatari O-Renji? That's a weird name," Miku mumbled, clicking on the accept button. The screen went black for a moment before lighting up with a picture of a brick wall. On the bottom of the screen, the chat box blipped with a small comment of good luck to her, and Miku smiled, typing in the same thing before the game began.

* * *

"I don't think any of that is necessary…well, she doesn't seem to have any problems while doing her homework," Miku's mother said while watching her daughter walk through the hallway. "Her father and I will talk to her about it, thank you for telling us, Hazama-sensei."

The sound of the phone nearly slamming into it's holder made Miku flinch, and she tried to shrug it off by hanging her head while walking into the kitchen. "Morning," she quickly said, avoiding her mother's hard stare; her cerulean eyes always made their family shiver in fear whenever they were glaring at someone, and this was no exception.

"Your teacher called and said you've been dozing off and falling asleep in class lately," the woman said, nonchalantly brushing back her short blue hair and standing next to her shuddering daughter. "He says you can't answer questions correctly in class and have a hard time catching up."

At this, Miku put down her bowl of cereal on the table and shoved a spoon into it, "Yeah right! I'll admit I fall asleep sometimes, but it's not like I can't do the work he tells us to do! Mom, I'm nearly two grades higher than everyone else, I can't see why I need to go through his class." With a huff, she stabbed her mouth with her spoon and began eating, closing her eyes to prepare for a scolding.

"I know, but even so, I don't like getting calls from your teachers regardless of the reason. I know you have a hard time talking to people because your father was that way when he was your age…but that shouldn't get in the way of your studies." Miku felt a small smile reach her cereal-filled mouth at the feeling of her mom's hand stroking her head, indirectly soothing her. "What's making you so sleepy in class, dear?"

Swallowing, Miku looked up with slightly fearful eyes and sighed, "He's a really boring teacher, mom…I mean, all he does is make us do bookwork the whole time! How can I _not _fall asleep?"

Her mom laughed a little, and winked, "I'll let you have this only once, okay?" She reached in the cabinet and threw a small bottle in Miku's direction, "Just don't let your father know, okay?"

The young girl nodded, popping off the cap and taking one long drink of the small bottle, "I just hope this works," she sighed, shuddering at the taste. Her eyes caught the clock and she stood from her chair to put away her bowl that was still full of cereal. "Tell Mikuo he can have that, okay? Gotta go!"

Her mom was about to yell out something, but stopped when the door slammed, making her wince and shake her head, "I swear, that girl…"

_If there's one thing I hate…it's going to school…_Miku ran her hand through one of her long twin tails and sighed, staring at the sidewalk on her way to school. It wasn't a long way, and even if she disliked going outside, she still loved the scenery of the world around her. "Why can't I just drop out and live a peaceful life without stress…" she mumbled, warily looking around at the people passing by in case they had heard her. The last time she had said that to herself, an elderly couple became extremely upset at her manners and audacity.

Stopping at a crosswalk, Miku took notice of Gumi standing a few feet away, looking anxious and in a hurry. She felt something tug at her chest, telling her to greet the other girl, but it was ignored. Gumi made no sign to show she even noticed Miku, and she didn't want to bother her if she _was_ in a hurry. _Well, the consequences of being an internet hermit I guess. _

Her stop was short lived, and Miku eventually found herself even closer to the place she hated the most. It was like she was there to entertain the teachers, and it made her less happy with them than she already was.

Upon reaching her classroom, she quickly sat down and brought out her homework, scribbling her name on it and setting it on the corner of her desk. Out of all her classes, this was easily the worst she'd ever had, mainly because her teacher loved to test her intelligence just because he could. It made her extremely uncomfortable, especially when the others would give her looks.

Once the bell rang, everyone stood up to greet their teacher before sitting and staying quiet while he walked around to collect homework, sometimes commenting on the work he saw on the papers.

"Morning, Hatsune-san," Hazama said, passing by her and picking up her worksheet. He was a normal looking teacher with a bit of a creepy smile, but he was nice when not making a mockery of her insecurities. "Perfect as always. How do you it?" His smile became bigger at the sight of her slouching into her seat, and he waited a second before walking to the desk in front of her.

Miku twirled her pencil between her fingers, watching his back and having the urge to stab the utensil into it, gripping it even harder. _Asshole. I hate him so much…_

"Alright, you've all done pretty well on the homework I gave you, so I won't give you any tonight. What, did all of you ask Hatsune-san for help? Because I've never seen such amazing work before," Hazama joked, adjusting his glasses. Laughter and cheering spread throughout the class, and he waited until they were done to continue. "Now, we'll be advancing toward the next chapter, so please turn to page one eighty-eight in your books, please!"

Closing her eyes to get rid of his presence, Miku leaned into her elbow, pretending to look at the words in the book before falling into darkness. _It didn't work, mom. _

Hazama sighed a little, a small smile appearing on his lips as he watched his favorite student nap. "Well, looks like I'll leave you all to work on your own. If you have any questions or need help, I'll be where I always am," he announced, setting down his book and heading for his small desk. "Oh, and Kagamine-chan? Please wake Hatsune-san up," he added, clicking away on his computer.

Rin happily agreed, jumping up from her seat and slowly making her way towards Miku's desk, pencil in hand. Whenever the teal-haired girl would doze off, said blonde would be in charge of waking her up, but she was also always crossing a dangerous line; the first three times Rin did it, she was punched, kicked and slammed into the window across the room, all unconsciously done.

"Go, Rin-chan!" a boy called out in excitement, awaiting what Miku would do this time.

It wasn't very long before her pencil shot up in the air, stabbing the ceiling and the short girl went twirling through the air with a smile on her face before crashing into her seat perfectly.

Miku shook her head, realizing that Rin yet again had to wake her up; it was yet another thing she hated Hazama for, like she was the only way the class could have fun. _Only forty more minutes…._

The work given was extremely easy for her, and she finished it in about twenty minutes while ignoring the stares of envy shot at her. Even after nearly a year, Miku couldn't really believe they still could look at her that way when they already knew just how powerful she was when there was work in front of her.

"Honestly…" To at least get their stares out of her head, she rested it in her elbow again. While not feeling tired, Miku wanted to at least do something to avoid seeing them stare at her.

The bell signaling the next period sounded, and Hazama gave a bright smile while walking out, loving the feel of teal eyes burning on his back. _Too bad I only have her for another two months. I love her reactions! _

Rin and Len stood, simultaneously stretching from their long period of sitting (or in Rin's case, trying to sit but failing due to her injury), and said blonde girl decided to skip over and sit on top of Miku's desk, smiling down at her. "Hey there~" she sang, waving.

Miku could only give a weak wave back, earning a stare from Len and a shudder across her spine. "Hi…" she whispered, brushing her bangs out of her blushing face out of habit. Her hands played with themselves underneath her desk, sweating slightly and almost stabbing her kneecaps. _Calm down…pretend their just online players! _

"Wanna have lunch today with us?" Len casually asked, popping the top off a bottle of water. His light blue eyes still held their usual curious stare, and all other means of Miku trying to communicate flew out the window. She didn't know whether or not it was the thought of hanging out with them, or just having to speak, but it almost made her want to throw up.

She shook her head, twin tails flying about and looking almost alive. The twins could easily see the scared expression on her face, but neither could comprehend why. "Hatsune-san?" the boy asked, a little worried and even more curious about her. "Are you okay?" He reached out to touch her shoulder, gulping a little in fear she'd snap, but was relieved when she didn't.

Miku slowly shook her head with a small smile, "Thanks…but, no." Her eyes gleamed of shame and sadness, but they were hidden under her small mass of bangs. _Pathetic. You suck, Miku. _

"Okay then, but we'll be waiting for the day you do okay?" Rin said, not disappointed at all in the response. She easily figured Miku would reject just as she always did, and would wait for another day. "Second period, blah," she gagged, turning to scowl at the clock before returning to her desk.

* * *

Before she knew it, Miku was already walking home, once more sighing at how harsh her day had been. Her work pile had grown twice its normal size, as well as her homework, while the others were given only one or two things to do. It made her slightly angry, but she could do it, so she would. "I won't let them look down on me," she told herself, glaring at the sidewalk.

Miku looked around, seeing Miki giggling with a few friends and even if the two were looking in the same direction, the redhead took no notice of her presence, just as Gumi did in the morning. Haku didn't seem to be at school today for whatever reasons, but they'd probably get an answer later that evening if she was online. Still, it made her chest tighten at the thought of not being acknowledged by the people she called friends.

"Excuse me," she said quickly, walking around an old man to get across the street. Her mind was hazy, but she could still unconsciously make out the same park she always walked by, the telephone poles and trees. It reminded her of the artist she met a few months ago, being able to capture such beauty on a simple canvas.

_Ha, and all I'm good at is playing online games and being a 'woe is me' type of person. I suck… _She hung her head and continued walking, until she felt a tug on her leg. Thinking it was a dog, she kicked the air, surprise hitting her once she felt nothing and began to fall backwards. With a loud thud Miku's uniform was covered in dirt and her book bag was sitting dangerously close to the sewer passage on the sidewalk.

"Crap!" she winced, seeing a small cut on her wrist, grabbing her bag's handle. "Best Friday ever…"

A small sound of laughter caught her ears, and even though it wasn't any of her business to stare at others, Miku couldn't help looking across the sidewalk to see a familiar face, amusement written all over her face. "Long time no see," she joked, extending a hand to help the tealette up. "Sorry for laughing at you."

Gulping down the sand in her throat and accepting the kind gesture, Miku spoke up hoarsely, "It's okay. I…I'm just, uh, a pretty…pretty clumsy person." She added in an awkward laugh, mentally decapitating herself. The woman in front of her raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

"Really? I kind of guessed at our first meeting you were, and shy to boot." Miku winced, taking the statement as a stabbing insult even though it clearly wasn't what Luka had meant. The woman seemed to notice this and shook her head, "Not that it's _bad_ of course; it's okay to not be a people-person. I'm not."

A new wave of relief and confidence made Miku want to join in the conversation; it was her first real one outside the internet and her family. "Really? But, you seem to be the popular type of lady…" Her voice faded at the end of her sentence, not really believing she was having a conversation with not only someone else, but with someone she secretly idolized.

Luka's laughter once more hit her ears, "Not really. I pursue my career choice for a reason; meeting up with customers to get them to buy stuff is awful though." To emphasize, he shivered at the thought, her long pink hair shuddering with her. "I think shy people are really the cream of the crop!"

"Why…is that?" The more time they spent talking, the more uncomfortable Miku was getting, and both could tell easily by her trembling twin tails. "D-don't say it's because they're smart…"

"Not that. It's because they have a lot going on…in here," the older woman tapped Miku's temple with her index finger, her smile making the shorter girl blush.

Miku suddenly felt something slip into her hand, confusing her. When she brought it up to her eyes, a teal eyebrow was raised, searching the blank piece of paper for any writing. "What's this?" she asked herself, as if never having seen a piece of paper before.

"Say…do you play online games a lot?" Luka asked, folding her arms behind her, "I know a really fun one."

Miku nodded, "I mainly play…Step…Mania," she blushed and hung her head in embarrassment, "It's basically all I do all the time." Her hands quivered and gripped onto her skirt for dear life. _So embarrassing! I should've been home by now, not talking to some stranger!_

"Great! I was just about to suggest that one. Write down your username and we can play together!" That line was definitely not one she was expecting, and Luka still had a big smile on her face even when Miku had a huge question mark on hers. "In exchange…"

_Aha! She was using me for something…why do I always fall for this crap? _The paper in Miku's hand crumpled from her clenched fist, but it didn't seem to bother Luka. "I want you to be a model for a painting," the woman said, her turquoise eyes boring holes through Miku's bent head. "I don't think I've met anyone with your eye or hair color, and it's definitely something I want to be able to remember, especially if we're going to be friends."

At the sound of the word friends, the paper fell from her hands and made its long descent to the ground, falling on top of Miku's shoe. _Friends? She wants to be friends…? _Her mouth was agape and her teal orbs bright from happiness flowing through her body.

_She has severe social anxiety…but I admit, it's pretty adorable. _Luka thought, crossing her arms and nodding, "If we share the same interests why not?"

"Okay…I'm…Hatsune Miku, by the way," she said slowly, still in shock. Her palms were still sweaty, but she held out a hand to shake, her own body doing the same. "I…really love your work…" It was still an uncomfortable feeling, but she felt the more she spoke to Luka, the less stressful it seemed to do so.

Taking her hand gently, Luka shook their hands gently with a smile on her face, "Thank you, Miku. It was nice seeing you, and since I have a pretty good memory, why not just tell me your username for online play? It'd be fun to play against you." Her eyes brightened at the sight of the young girl blushing, her smile turning much more softer.

"Um…it's, ah…" her body trembled at the thought of giving such information, but her mind screamed at her to tell, even if it seemed like death itself. "H-hachuneV1!" Her teal eyes were shut tightly, wondering when Luka's polite smile would disappear and become a mocking one.

Her mind, as twisted it was, was also completely far off the mark of what Luka's reaction would be. It wasn't hilarity of the name, or even amused; she instead was looking bewildered. "Seriously? You mean, _the _hachuneV1, the one with over one thousand wins?" For an older woman, Luka knew she wasn't exactly acting like it, but in front of a player she greatly wanted to meet, she didn't care. "I've always wanted to meet you, you know!"

Miku jumped when both her hands were gripped tightly in softer ones, almost identical colored eyes looking into hers. She knew she was blushing, both at the closeness of the two and actually having her hands held the way they were; she'd never had her hand held, even by her parents or brother, so it was a definite strange feeling. "Um, yes?"

"How do you do it? I mean, you're so good, I couldn't bring myself to challenge you! Now we definitely have to have a match," Luka excitedly replied, forgetting about their previous deal. "Mine is Mazimaru, so once you get home, or whenever you want actually, send me a challenge. I have to get back to work, so I'll leave you to yourself now." She stepped back, still having her happy aura around her and waved before going back to a bench she was previously sitting on, a large canvas in front of it as well as a box of different colored paint.

Not wanting the conversation to end, Miku swallowed and stepped forward, "W-wait!" she called, petrified of what she was about to say, "When…when do you want to paint me?" She took a large breath, trying to calm down and smiled, "I really…want to see how it feels to be with others, and…how I'd look as a drawing."

Luka looked shocked for a moment, mentally slapping herself for forgetting, but stood straight to answer her, "Anytime you want. Just tell me on the game, okay? And I don't draw, I paint." She winked before going back to work, secretly glancing at Miku while making it seem like she was painting something else. _She's pretty interesting._

* * *

Mikuo dropped his water bottle in fright when Miku bust through their apartment door, "Damn, Miku. I didn't know your game was that important to you!" he yelled, getting a rag to clean up the mess.

"Shut up," she snapped back, slipping off her shoes and walking toward her room. "Is mom home yet?" Miku stopped and turned around, walking into their small kitchen where Mikuo was on his knees, wiping the ground. She opened the refrigerator and took out a water bottle as well, careful not to crush her brother's toes on her way out.

He shook his head, but noticed she was already gone, "No. She went to the grocery store and dad's still at work." Wiping off his pants and setting the dirty rag carelessly under the sink, Mikuo walked out with his half empty bottle and walked to his room next to Miku's. "Anything in particular you want for dinner?"

"Why?" Miku called, her voice muffled from the closed door, and the clothes she was taking off. "Anything's fine with me, as long as we have onigiri."

He sighed, but smiled at her response, and hit his fist against her door, "Fatty!" Before she could explode and threaten him with her leek pillow, he ran into his room, no doubt going to play video games before going out with his friends. Miku slightly envied him for being as sociable as he was, but Luka's words came into her mind and she gave up on the thought.

Changing quickly into shorts and a long black sweater, she hopped into her computer chair, grabbed her headphones and double clicked on the game's icon, waiting for the window to pop up. "I'm getting the high score today, Luka-san!"

Typing quickly, she looked up the username Luka had given her, and nearly toppled over in her seat and the artist's numbers. Her losses greatly outnumbered her wins, which got lots of negative and sarcastic comments on her page. The hateful remarks made Miku slightly angry, and only then did she realize that Luka wasn't online yet. _She must still be out painting…I'll send her a message just in case. _

Had it been a normal face to face conversation, she would've had a heart attack before sending anything to anyone. She had a phone, but preferred texting, even if she had nobody to talk to aside her family. However, she was using her computer to communicate, making it much easier for her to act like herself instead of her usual awkward self.

After sending Luka a message, she got one at the same time, and felt her heart fall out of her butt, seeing Miki's username. "I didn't know she got on so early in the evening…" she mumbled, opening it.

_SF2AChibi said: Hi Miku-chan! I downloaded a new sim pack just now, wanna try it out with me? :3_

Miku's door opened, revealing her mom looking at a box, "Miku, do you want-"

"A thousand times yes!" her daughter shouted, literally stabbing at her keyboard in reply. Not noticing her mom's stare, she continued on with her activities, not even hearing the door close behind her.

* * *

As the sky turned darker, Miku made her way out of her room, stretching out her limbs from sitting so long to head into the kitchen where Mikuo and her father were sitting. "Hi daddy~!" she chirped, dancing toward him to give him a small hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Weirdo…" Mikuo mumbled, flipping through a magazine. He nonchalantly skipped through a few pages before being sucked into an article, not feeling the hard kick to his shin.

Their dad sighed, crossing his arms, "So I hear you sleep in class, Miku?" he asked, drinking the water in front of him. "That's not good."

Yuichi was a tall man with a dark head of blue hair and sharp black eyes, making him look almost menacing had it not been for his soft personality. His wife and daughter had strong leashes on him, and everyone who knew them knew he was a whipped man, but he didn't care for their opinion. He also worked as a construction worker, meaning he was very strong and would use that to his advantage to anyone he thought as a threat.

"Hazama-sensei does it to bother me. I don't know why, but he's always picking on me, Daddy!" she replied, crossing her arms, "I fall asleep because there's nothing to do; I finish the work literally when we get it!"

Their mom came in holding a tray of food, gently setting it down in the middle and pushing Mikuo's magazine away, "I keep telling you, read that stuff when we're not eating." She began to give everyone their share and finally sat down, "I already talked to her this morning, dear. As long as she gets the work done and has good grades I'm fine with it."

Her husband grumbled, "I still don't like the fact that he deliberately makes her as the butt of his jokes. Maybe we should go speak to this Hazama guy. Even his _name_ sounds creepy!"

"I bet he's a descendant of that other Hazama guy in BlazBlue," Mikuo stated, biting into his rice ball, and earning a chuckle from their dad.

Miku could feel herself getting happier at the thought of her torture ending, and tuned out the conversations to focus on her food, occasionally answering to her parents' questions. Her mind drifted off to StepMania, and Luka, and the rest of her friends (if she could still call them that) and furrowed her brow. _Should I step up and try to talk to them in person? Miki-chan would probably be my best bet since she's so outgoing, but…_

"She has a crush on a guy named Sakura," Mikuo teased, poking her leg with his toe, "I bet she was doing some naughty things, that's why she was late today…"

A blush crept up her face, and Miku glared at him, dropping her chopsticks, "I do not!" Even though he knew of her crush on Miki, he liked to tease her about it while choosing names closest to hinting at her; their parents didn't know of her, but the two siblings were afraid of their reactions if they knew she liked a girl. "Stop making stuff up, Mikuo," Miku huffed, turning away.

Yuichi stared at his son with a dark aura around him, "You know these guys well enough to not give them honorifics?" His hands clenched, showing his extreme fatherly side that protected Miku like a rare painting against any boys that came near her. "Where does he live?"

"He doesn't actually exist, dad…" Mikuo nervously said, his voice cracking from the pressure, "I made him up to bother her!"

"Kyoko!"

"I don't know, this is the first time I've heard of Miku liking someone…"

"I don't like anybody!"

* * *

Falling onto her bed after her bath, Miku yawned loudly, staring at the wall that touched her bed. After dinner, her parents made her go into their room so they could discuss adult things even if she knew more than they thought she did. Mikuo just laughed and went out to a party, leaving her to endure it all alone.

"It's not like I'm going to sleep with everyone I see," she said, hugging her leek pillow and curling into a ball. She didn't feel like playing StepMania at all, but an image of Luka plowed through her mind, and she shot up, gripping her slightly wet head.

_One game won't hurt…_she thought, jumping into her computer chair and putting on her headphones. She looked at the corner of her monitor, the clock saying it was only ten thirty, which meant most of her friends were online. Fortunately they were, and she had three messages waiting for her once she logged in. The first was from Gumi, second from Luka and the third from the person she played the night before: Katamari O-Renji. Despite her giddiness at seeing Luka's response and a new player contacting her, she clicked on Gumi's since she was the only one online out of the three.

_blanciito said: Hey Miku! I saw you this morning but I forgot about class duties! The teacher made me clean DURING class…sooo embarrassing! Wanna hang out tomorrow? I know this is sudden but we've been friends for almost a year and we haven't been out anywhere! I'll even ask Miki-chan~ ;D Anyway, I got a few new packs and a new skin so I'm stoked to play all night! _

Miku's breath caught in her throat, and her fingers stood in the air above the keyboard, frozen. "Meet…huh?" she whispered, feeling butterflies attack her stomach. She nodded and began typing her reply, hurriedly trying to finish before the green haired girl started a game with someone else.

_hachuneV1 said: Sure! Maybe we should go to the place we're familiar with the most: the arcade near the train station? You don't have to invite Miki-chan, she's always busy on Saturdays anyway. I'm so happy we can finally become actual friends, see you there! _

Taking a deep breath, she leaned back, feeling exhausted just by sending the message. Going back to her messages, she decided to save Luka's message for last and clicked on the player she wasn't acquainted with yet.

_Katamari O-Renji said: Hi hachune! =D We played against each other yesterday and I lost. Horribly. Lol, so I was wondering if you wanted to become my training partner? I know I can do it on my own, but I like to play against others instead. I hate losing so much! Anyway, what school do you go to? Not a stalker, but I live in the same city as you. :3_

"That's weird…but okay," Miku said, typing away. It wasn't uncommon for someone to ask her to help them, but it usually only lasted one day, they never asked to be partners, and she didn't know this player well but wasn't against meeting someone new.

_hachuneV1 said: Sure, I'll be glad to help. (: I live in Tokyo, near Amenazawa High, which means I go there too. xD Do you? Whenever we both have time, we should play together, and you should play against my friends, too, they're like you: hate to lose! You'd get along real well. _

Finally after what seemed like years to her, Miku clicked on Luka's message, awaiting to read what the artist had typed.

_hachuneV1 said: Hi Luka-san, it's me, Miku, but you probably already knew that. :x I just wanted to tell you thanks for that small talk, because I think my confidence unconsciously grew after it. I've never had a real friend outside the internet, so it was a bit intimidating talking to you, but I like talking with you! You don't look the type to play or even know what StepMania is! I looked at your wins/losses…and….well, it's bad, lol. Is that why you were so excited to see me in person? _

_Mazimaru said: Miku! I'm so happy you messaged me, I couldn't reach you since you were in a game. Glad I caught you! You're welcome, and I'm glad I was able to have the honor of being your first real friend offline. __J YOU don't look the type to play this game, honestly, that's why I was so shocked to hear you were you. Yeah…about that, my cousin likes to play on my account, and he sucks at it so…that's where all the hate comes from. We should hang out tomorrow, play some DDR in place of StepMania? Here's my number if you want to call or text me. (: Hope to hear from you soon! _

"I think I have a new crush…" Miku said, a blush staining her cheeks. She gulped and tapped the number into her phone, saving Luka as a contact. "Crap, but Gumi and I have plans at the arcade…well, they both play it, so…" Her fingers danced across the keyboard again, a smile on her face the whole time.

_hachuneV1 said: Tomorrow? I have plans with a friend from here too, but she plays just as much as us and you'll love her if you want to come! I wish one of my family members played too, it sucks being ridiculed for playing this, I envy you. :P By the way…do you happen to be in college? You don't look like you go to high school…anyway, hope you can come along with us, we'll meet up at the arcade by the station. _

With that, she closed out of the game and shut down her computer, making her whole room dark aside from the small amount of light from the moon. Slipping under her covers, Miku smiled widely, hugging her leek pillow even tighter against her, "I'll still have the highest score, Luka-san…I'm beast at DDR."

New thoughts of a better social life made her fall asleep quickly, still smiling and finally looking forward to going outside to be with people. _Best Friday ever..._

* * *

_**A/N: **_

Well, here's the first chapter. Again, sorry about the messages being _uber_ annoying and long. We write long messages when talking online and it's a habit we should break -we're not politicians! xD We were going to have MikuxMikixGumi and eventually NegiToro, but decided against it and just have NegiToro along with MikixGumi. Slight attraction problems and stuff, but they're pretty minor and blow away after about a chapter or two. We want this to be at least 15 chapters, and since we bust this one out so fast, we might be able to do it. Might.

Later! (:


	2. Personal Meeting

_**A/N:**_

Wow…in just one night we had over seventeen emails about this story; thanks so much for liking it, we really appreciate it!

We added some new characters here, and you might not recognize some, but we thought it'd be cool to use some not very known/used Vocaloids into the picture, but most of them will only be used online, others will actually show up, although only for a short while.

**Disclaimer: **We own nothing but this computer we type on: people, places, names, games, you name it.

* * *

_**StepMania**_

* * *

_**Chapter 2: Personal Meeting**_

"Hey, Miku…wake up, dammit," Mikuo drawled lazily, shaking his sister's shoulder. His eyes were half-lidded with small bags and he looked awful. "Get up, there's someone waiting in the living room for you…"

Opening her eyes like she had just been shot, Miku pushed his hand away, "Wh-who?" Her voice was shaky, and she dreaded the answer. _I never tell anyone my address! A stalker?_

"I don't know. I think it's…Gumi-san? She has green hair. Hurry up, I wanna go back to sleep," he answered, yawning as he made his way out. Mikuo didn't tell her, but it secretly was his first time going into her room, and it was different from the messy thing he thought he would meet.

Poking his head through the hall, he gave a charming smile to the girl awkwardly sitting on the couch, legs tightly crossed and hands playing with each other. "She'll be out in just a minute~" he sang, ignoring the screams of bloody murder coming from Miku's room. "Ignore her for now…"

Gumi nodded, staring at her shorts, and going down to her sneakers. Now that Mikuo was asleep again, there was nothing that might break the silence when Miku walked out, and it made her slightly nervous. _Get a grip, Gumi! She's not a serial killer! _her mind yelled, slapping her over and over until she began feeling dizzy.

While she waited, she could hear water running, which meant Miku had run into the shower; it made her laugh a bit at how Miku was just as anxious as she was. During Miku's short shower, Gumi decided to practice what she was going to say once they were face to face, but couldn't once she messed up on five lines.

"Uhm…"

"Oh!" Gumi jumped, looking at the hall where Miku was standing awkwardly in a towel. The green-haired girl decided to ignore it and look up at worried teal eyes. "G-good morning…" she shyly said, giving a small wave. If there was one way to get the ball rolling, Gumi knew she had to step up and start a conversation.

Miku smiled weakly, a blush on her face from knowing she looked pretty much naked when it wasn't really true, "Morning…um, how come…no, did you…how…" It seemed like trying to pick up a building just forming the sentence, so she looked down in embarrassment. "My address?" was all she could say, but Gumi understood what she meant.

"My sister. She's uh…she's Mikuo-san's friend, and…well, she knows where you live…" Thought it didn't sound like it, Gumi felt like she was a total creep, but shook it away with a small smile. "So, here I am. This sounds weird, but…um, I wanted us to kinda, well, ah…meet in person?"

Miku understood, and felt a rush of happiness run through her. The air suddenly felt comfortable and she gulped, taking a breath. "Wanna…help me with my hair?" she asked, pointing at her long mass of wet strands. "It takes a…a really long time to dry…"

Blushing and standing, Gumi nodded, "S-sure! I mean…if you don't mind…" _Of course she doesn't, you idiot! She offered! _

They walked passed the bathroom where Gumi thought they would stop, and was surprised to see Miku was already dressed, and had a towel over her clothes. "The towel?" she blurted, slapping a hand over her mouth from her rudeness. "S-sorry.."

"It's fine!" Miku shouted back in equal embarrassment, "I wear it so…so my clothes don't get wet…is that weird?" She slipped it off, moving her hair from her clothing and hung it behind her room door.

Watching with curiosity, Gumi shook her head, "No, my sister does that too…her hair's a real monster to fix, but it's…not as long and thick as your's is…" Once again she felt her mental self slap her, and felt awful at what she said, seeing Miku's face fall a little. "I-it's not bad though! Really…it's really pretty! I like it long!"

_Oh my god…shut up, Gumi! Just shut up before you make it more awkward! _She face palmed, and sighed, "Sorry…I'm just…really nervous…"

"Me too, don't worry," Miku replied, walking to the bathroom. Opening the cabinet above the toilet, she brought out a hairdryer and brush, handing both to Gumi, who's eyes were wandering. "Um, will you…?" she asked, suddenly very conscious of what she was asking her to do. Never had someone touched her hair, so it being the first time with someone she considered a friend was a little intimidating.

"Of course!"

Staring at herself in the mirror, Miku looked up at Gumi, who had a very serious face on while she worked on the mass of hair. "G-Gumi…san?" she spoke quietly, testing out the girls name. Even though she knew Gumi was the person she spoke to online, she always referred to her as her penname, but saying her name while actually talking to her was a different feeling, and it made her smile.

Gumi made a humming sound indicating she heard, still brushing through Miku's teal locks. "You're hair is really soft…" she said absentmindedly, not even noticing what she said until the statement had been hanging in the air. "God…sorry! I'm usually not this creepy, I swear!"

"It's fine…thank you…" Miku meekly said, her fingers playing with themselves, "H-have you ever…met someone online, offline?" Thinking about it, Miku suddenly realized how strange what she just said was, and was about to rephrase it.

"No. You're the first, actually…if I was used to it, I'd be more open."

Green eyes pierced teal ones thought the mirror, and both smiled at each other. Today was going to be a day with a lot of firsts for them, and while they were nervous, they were also excited.

* * *

"So, this Megurine-san…she's coming too?" Gumi asked, walking slowly next to Miku, both looking around at the stores they'd never seen before. The weather was pretty warm out, but the two looked out of place with the weather; Gumi had long shorts that stopped above her knees and a long sleeved shirt that covered everything but an inch of her bottoms, and her face showed how hot she was. The two could feel themselves getting more comfortable around each other, only having small troubles forming sentences.

Miku had tight fitting jeans and a long sleeve, feeling her clothes stick to her back from sweating, but was okay as long as it didn't start covering her face. "Yeah…she wanted to come here today with me, so I just told her to…hang out with us," she replied, awestruck by some shops, and tall buildings they walked by. "Is that okay?"

The streets were relatively clean, she noticed, and it was apparently safe enough to let children walk around by themselves, as she saw a few walk into a bright convenience store. Old people cleaned their small shops (mostly selling ramen) with old looking brooms and glared at her for staring at them. She could also hear the trains bursting with speed from the station even at this distance, people bustling toward the station for work or other matters.

Giant TVs littered the area, showing music videos and promotions of new items being sold. There were also game shops that sold all kinds of anime merchandise across the street in a large building, its windows gleaming from the afternoon sun; all of it tempting for Miku, but she had something to do already and would hate to get lost all by herself.

"Yeah, I don't mind," Gumi said weakly, seeing the arcade down the street. Squinting a bit, she could see a tall woman standing by the entrance, patiently waiting for someone. "Is that her?" she pointed at her and Miku seemed to light up, nodding in joy. _I guess Miki has been wiped from her mind…_

Luka looked up from her spot and smiled at a very familiar face approaching, happier than she was yesterday. "Morning, Miku. And you must be Gumi? I'm Megurine Luka." She nodded at the both of them, resisting the urge to crush both of them in a hug. "Let's go in, then. The heat's making me feel gross…"

Gumi tugged on Miku's sleeve, feeling the refreshing air from inside, grateful for the invention of the air conditioner, "That's her? She…doesn't seem to be the type to um, like being here." She was careful not to get Luka's attention, not wanting attention on herself for talking about her. Miku smiled an shook her head.

"That's what I thought…but she's really friendly and she plays StepMania," she whispered, not surprised at Gumi's eyes going wide.

There was a lot of people in the arcade today, which made the trio a bit uncomfortable, but happy they wouldn't look so isolated from everyone else that was there. No lights were on except those exploding from various games and large screens. Most of the games were surrounded by guys, watching how the players could win. Miku could hear the buttons from fighting games being smashed by those who couldn't lose, coins escaping the coin machine and all types of music escaping from speakers. It was a bit too much, but she felt comfortable around stuff she liked.

Many guys turned to stare at them, eyeing Luka then turning back to the game while whispering to their friends. None of them approached the girls, which was surprising since Miku thought Luka was a natural beauty that could get anybody she wanted.

She hung her head a bit, feeling self-conscious all of a sudden. The floor gleamed with all different kinds of colors, but she could still see her reflection in the glossy tile. _Of course she'd get stared at…she's so pretty! _

"So, it's all packed in here," Luka sighed, stopping in a slightly open space. "Want to try out some games before heading to DDR?" She turned around to face the other two, waiting for any sort of reply, but she didn't get any. Eventually, she looked at their confused and fear-filled faces, realizing they'd never done anything like this before. "How about Laser Tag?"

Gumi gulped, gripping her bag tightly in her hands, "What's that?" Her darkened green eyes looked around to see if she could find it, but had no luck.

"I think it's…a shooting kind of game, right?" Miku spoke up, biting her bottom lip at the thought of it. "Doesn't it hurt a lot?" The thought of being struck by painful hits from other people didn't suit well with her, especially since she was completely inexperienced in the game.

Luka brushed a bit of hair away from her shoulder, laughing a little, "You're thinking of paintball, Miku. Laser Tag is something completely different. You wear a vest that has targets on it, and go through a dark maze trying to shoot down other players' vests. If you get hit, your vest is inactive for ten seconds, but each time you get a shot, you get points. The person with the highest points is the winner."

"That sounds like…fun, I guess," Gumi said, still slightly unsure. She turned to Miku, who was also looking frightened, "Do you want to do it?"

_I won't get hurt, it's all just computer controlled…I can do it! _Miku thought, nodding her head in confidence. "Where do we go?" she asked sternly, feeling pumped. She saw Luka look around for a moment before pointing in a certain direction, near the other exit.

They passed by all kinds of games, most of them all being used by groups of people. Little kids ran by, holding toys and handfuls of coins while their parents ran behind them, trying to see if they'd get hurt. Staff members stood around mostly, looking uninterested in what they were doing but still getting the job done. Gumi seemed more excited to be here, as she stopped by a few games to see what people were doing; they almost lost her a few times, but found her lot of green hair and matching watery eyes.

"Alright, first things first, we need wristbands to play, so I'll go ahead and get us some, as well as some tokens to play afterward," Luka said, pointing her head in the direction of a large desk next to the glass doors of the exit.

Miku nodded, her feet gluing themselves onto the floor. "W-we'll wait for you then…here," she said, a little scared. Before the pinkette could walk away, she grabbed onto her shirt, a blush on her cheeks, "Do you need money? I don't want you wasting…"

"Y-yeah! I brought a couple tens, I'll give you one-"

Luka stopped them both before they dug into their pockets to give her all they had, "It's fine, they only cost about twenty dollars, it's not a lot." Her explanation made Miku's face turn into one of horror, and she sighed, "Not twenty _each_, Miku."

"Oh…" she looked down, her hands clinging to her sides. "But still…" _Stupid, it's an arcade, not a movie theatre! Let her do her thing! _

Gumi took in a breath, and stepped forward, her open hand closed into a fist and shaking. "You…you're the guest! We'll go…pay. Yeah! We'll pay, you stay here!" In her nervousness, she awkwardly grabbed onto Miku's arm and pulled the still girl, nearly making her fall onto the ground. "L-let's go…!" she weakly cried, her joints stiff as the two walked near the desk. The tealette looked more like a rag doll on the way.

Miku tried to get blood flowing to her arm again, still in shock from her near fall. "Gumi…" she mumbled, heels digging into the gleaming tile. The desk was a huge half circle shape, with a sign that said Customer Service on it, as well as prices and deals for people who were regulars, or just those who wanted to have a good time. She knew Gumi was going to make her speak, and pay without a word, so with everything she had, she tried to get away.

"Hello, how can I help you?" the lady gently asked, easily seeing their discomfort. She had long red hair in a ponytail, and equal red eyes, making the two girls in front of her shudder. They both knew the smile she had on her face was pretty much fake, but even if it was a sweet fake smile, it was still really, really creepy to them.

A pregnant silence came, the only noises being people cheering from a win behind them, and the loud noises from all the other games. "Excuse me?" she asked, beginning to get annoyed by the silent girls.

Miku gulped, stepping up, "Can we…get, um…" she started, feeling herself losing her breath. Both lungs felt like someone was squeezing them, but she tried to overcome it and bit her lip before continuing. "Three…three…" Gumi, behind her, gestured a circle around her wrist, looking down in case the lady couldn't understand.

"Three wristbands for the day?" she casually said with a small smile, punching buttons into her register. "That comes out to seventeen eighty-eight, please." Immediately two tens were slammed on the counter, Gumi staring at her hand as if it had gotten bitten off.

The rest was a blur to Miku, who felt like she was beginning to hyperventilate. "It's okay…we don't have to do it anymore, Miku-san!" Gumi tried to sound convincing, but her face was just as pale and almost the same color as her hair.

Luka, leaning on a broken vending machine near a photo booth, watched them come back, a little concerned for letting them go by themselves, but straightened once they were in front of her. "Are you okay?" she asked softly, taking her wristband Gumi held out for her.

"Fine…it'll go away soon," Miku slowly replied, her eyes in a daze and face stoic. She unconsciously wrapped hers around her wrist, and could feel the others' stares on her. "Really…it happens all the time when I go, uhh, to the store and stuff," she tried to reason, shuffling her feet in nervousness. "I'll be okay soon, really…"

Gumi nodded, her face going back to its normal color, "If you say so…well, let's get to the game!" She popped her fingers in a fighting gesture, her game face on. Luka raised an eyebrow at her sudden change in attitude, but brushed it off and led them into the room where the line for Laser Tag was.

"There's a lot of people," she commented with a grimace, looking at the glowing colors all over the wall. Her white top was now a glowing purple, as were her shoe laces. However, looking at Gumi and Miku, she couldn't help but laugh along the people behind them.

Both girls' hair were glowing brightly, almost a complete neon pair. It made their faces almost completely invisible, but they didn't notice as their equally bright eyes were wandering and looking at the colors around them. The employee up front was chuckling to himself, letting a few people through before closing the door.

"Hey, come on," Luka said, pulling the two forward. They seemed to be in an entirely different world, and Luka couldn't help but find it cute. _It really _is_ their first time…_

A large box for personal belongings was in the corner next to some seats that were full of people, and Miku tilted her head in confusion. However, she felt someone from behind her push her into Gumi, and she froze on the spot.

"Sorry," a male voice came from behind her, before the guy went back to talking with his friends. Even if it was an accident, Miku couldn't help but feel like she was being watched and disliked from the others.

Gumi gulped, looked down and grabbed Miku's hand to comfort her, "It's okay, Miku-san. I think stuff like, well, that…um, happens a lot in lines…it doesn't mean they don't like you, okay?"

She didn't look convinced, but Miku nodded nonetheless, "Okay…" She stayed close to the three with her eyes on the floor, only making a movement when the line decreased and when the employee had to check her wrist. She finally looked up when they were walking through a door and into a room that had three large monitors on the walls with numbers and scores, and well as hangers with a large number of vests hanging from them.

Miku grabbed one, and it felt slightly heavy, but realized it was the gun attached to its side, the number seven glowing from the back. She unbuckled it and put it on, not feeling very comfortable with other people near her doing the same. Luka saw her and made a gesture for her to come closer, and Miku didn't hesitate when nearly running to her, her vest all ready to go.

"Okay, once we're in there, stay close to me you two," Luka directed, pulling off her gun from its strap. "Don't freak when the vest vibrates, that just means you've been hit. If you get lost, just run around, shoot people and try to find each other. You're hair will be a huge sign."

Gumi pouted, touching her bangs a little, "Hey…" She looked at Miku with an amused smile, "I didn't notice…"

"Me either," Miku said quietly, looking at one of her tails, 'That's pretty cool."

The staff member coughed into her hand, getting the attention of the large group, "Alright, here's the rules: no running, if I catch you running you get two warnings. After the second you get booted out of here. No pushing or shoving, and if I see anybody cheating you will be automatically banned from playing. Got it? There are no teams, everyone is out for themselves, so even your best friend is your enemy. Ready?"

"Yes!" many guys replied, throwing their fists in the air. She walked to the door next to the large screens and opened the door, holding a remote.

"Line up so I can activate your vests. No crowding around here, so be patient. The game ends in ten minutes, so go crazy!"

Many beeps later, the trio walked in, Miku amazed at how big the place was. It was dark with purple lighting so the black walls were glowing in the dark, her hair even brighter than it was in line. The walls ranged from being tall towers to simple hiding places, the center area having windows and a circular place for friends to hide.

Luka directed them through the maze-like area, occasionally shooting at a few people. Gumi and Miku were like lost children with their guns and had no idea what to do. "I don't know…I can't use this…" Miku whimpered, seeing a scary looking guy walk near.

"Just shoot it like you would a normal gun. But to get a hit, you have to hold it on the colored targets, okay?" Luka said, taking hold of her hand and moving her fingers so she was holding it correctly. Then she adjusted Miku's aim so her gun was pointing straight at her. "Hit me," she said, extending her arms. Miku's eyes widened, and she shook her head. "It's okay. Look at Gumi," she said, pointing in the direction of a bright green blob.

Gumi had run off in excitement, and was currently leaping on the floor to dodge, rolling and shooting as many people as she could. She looked like a real pro at shooting things, impressing her other friends. "Woo!" she screamed to herself, running behind a few walls.

Miku gulped, and closed one eye in concentration. Before she could pull the trigger, her vest vibrated from behind, and she saw Luka's eyes sharpen. "Hold on," she said, running after her supposed murderer.

All alone, she got on her knees and looked around the corner, no sign of Gumi anywhere. "At least she's having fun," she mumbled, getting up. Her gun made a reload sound, and colors returned to her vest, telling her she could shoot.

Her eyes caught Luka, hiding across her to shoot the girl that had got her, and Miku felt her heart thud before a small smile appeared on her lips. However, it fell at seeing someone creep up on her concentrated friend. "Luka," she called, making the pinkette jump and look at her. In a flash, the trigger was pulled and Miku felt accomplished at seeing the person behind Luka's vest go dark.

"Damn it!" he cried, running off to another hiding spot. A flash of brown entered her vision, and Luka jumped out from her spot, barely missing the girl's shot. "Thanks," she said, grabbing Miku's hand. The two of them ran, avoiding anyone they saw with a dark vest.

A few stood around, raising their arms in surrender, "Dead," they said, letting the two walk past them. Miku clung onto her pretty tightly while they walked, but brought out her gun to shoot, watching everyone's move very closely. It occurred to her that even though the rules said they had no teams, Luka stood by her side the whole time.

"L-Luka-san?" she mumbled, running behind a tall wall to avoid getting hit. She pressed her back against the wall, hoping nobody saw her overly bright hair. "Why...why are you still with me, even if...the rules say there aren't any teams...?" She gripped her gun tightly, feeling sweat build up in her palms, avoiding Luka's gaze.

The taller woman reached down and lightly ruffled her hair, "Where would you be if I had left you alone?"

Miku was caught off guard, and she raised an eyebrow, "Um...over there?" She pointed at the corner, and looked down. Luka made her look up and she felt her face go red at the gesture.

"Like I told you before, being shy and stuff isn't bad, and I want you to have fun. Yes we just met and stuff, but making some new friends isn't bad, is it?" she confidently replied, holding up her gun with a wink. "Wanna kick some more butt then?"

Tearing up a little bit, Miku shakily nodded, straightening out her hands. "L-let's go then..."

"Alright!" Luka yelled, dragging her out of their hiding place. She let go of her wrist, and jumped behind another wall, shooting the person hiding behind her. Her hair fell in front of her face, and she pushed it away, waiting for Miku to join her.

"This is really fun," Miku stated, falling to the floor and shooting someone to the side. The timer on her gun showed they only had about four more minutes. "We should go find Gumi…"

Luka nodded, letting her stand and go first. She was pretty impressed that Miku had no problem being here anymore. _I knew this would loosen her up. _Her eyes followed a green blur, and she nudged Miku's shoulder, but the tealette seemed to be way ahead of her.

"Gumi-san," she said, getting down a little. Gumi came out from her hiding spot, sweat on her forehead visible even with the lack of light. But, before she could even say anything, her vest lost it's color. She gaped at Miku, who stood with a small smile. "Gotcha," she said, hoping the other girl wasn't mad.

"Wow…who knew you had it in you," Luka joked, poking the back of her head. Miku looked at her with a blush and astonishment written on her face, as if not believing what she had just done. "Come on, let's leave with a bang!"

They split up once Gumi's vest and gun reactivated, the green-haired girl running off despite the rules. She got back at Miku before leaving, winking at her frowning face. Luka and Miku went in another direction, standing close to a large wall that led to the only open space. It suddenly became extremely quiet, even those hidden behind them not making a move. Behind the wall, the circular area held in a few people that seemed to be good, as they heard multiple sounds of people's vests deactivating.

Miku turned and felt herself jump at the sight of three hidden people, all pointing their guns at Luka's back. Gulping with a deep breath, she ran towards them, making Luka turn around. "Miku?" she called, shooting someone who had come out in front of her.

"Ha!" a girl yelled, pressing her trigger. Miku rolled on the floor before taking her out, feeling the heat catch up with her. She wasn't comfortable, especially by herself, but Luka had made an effort to protect her for most of the game, and she wanted to return the favor.

Her vest vibrated though, and she turned to see a person in the far back acting like a sniper for his friends. The area was the highest and whoever was there could see anything going on. She took a step backwards, fear rising up into her stomach as she saw two others come out and walk in her direction.

Quickly turning to see if Luka was there, she felt herself be pushed back into the wall, pink hair obstructing her view. "Luka…?" she asked, hearing the reactivation of her gun. With a hard stare, she ran around the taller woman and stood next to her, ready to shoot the ones coming to them.

Their preparation was short lived, as Gumi came flying out of nowhere, lying on her back and taking them out once they came into view. "Alright!" she cheered quietly to herself as the whistle blew, time having run out.

She turned around and her mouth opened, redness slapping her in the face. "Um…I…I like action movies…" Her eyes went to her gun, and she nearly choked on her saliva. "Wow…eleven thousand…?" The red numbers showed her score, and they heard the staff member yell at them to go back inside.

"How'd you do, Miku?" Luka asked, walking close to her to see the numbers. Miku seemed reluctant at first, but eventually turned her gun so she could see. If it weren't for knowing this was her first time, Luka would've laughed, but instead, she gently ruffled Miku's hair. "That's pretty good for a first timer. Three thousand isn't bad. I got five thousand," she said, showing her.

When they walked back in, everyone was surrounding the large screens as numbers rolled, showing how many people they had hit, how many times they got hit, and their overall score.

"Who is number thirteen?" the employee asked, her eyes a little wide. She looked around and saw Gumi raise her hand shyly. "Awesome, just pure awesome! Here's the prize!" she said, tossing a rather heavy box at her.

Guys whistled and others smiled at her, while she stared open-mouthed at the thing in her hands. They were a pair of very expensive crystal headphones, that glowed green when turned on. "W-wow…I, um…th-thank you…thank you very m-much!" she yelled, scaring a few players.

They returned their vests and exited the room, finally realizing just how hot it had been in there. "Well, shall we move on to DDR?" Luka asked, holding up a large bag of coins. She was sweating a little, but the air conditioners above them cooled her off.

The two nodded, Gumi still in a slight trance at her prize, and they walked through the crowds holding onto each other's shirts. Passing by a few games they couldn't see because of the crowds, Miku didn't know which ones she wanted to try later on. However, once in a less populated area, there were two large screens that looked like you could touch them, and cut fruit, and it caught Miku's attention.

"Luka-san?" she asked, looking up through timid eyes. Luka looked behind her, and hummed. "C-can we…try that one out, after…?" She pointed behind her, where the empty games where, and saw Luka smile a little.

"If you want. We can play whatever you want," she replied. It made Miku slightly blush, but she nodded and felt happiness fill her again; whatever it was she was feeling at the moment, she didn't want it to end.

They reached the dance game, and luckily nobody was using it, but Miku silently tilted her head in confusion. Instead of the game made for two dancers, it was for four, which made it seem slightly weird with only one screen to show the moves. "Why is it like that?"

"I guess some new thing they made up, but when Gumi feels better we can all play together, is that okay with you?" Luka turned to the green-haired girl, who was sitting on the floor and slightly red in the face. She jumped when feeling eyes staring at her, and quickly nodded, hiding her face behind her new headphones. "Alright, you can choose the song, Miku," she said, turning her attention back to the other shy girl.

Nodding, they both put in four tokens and Miku pressed start, her eyes a little more serious than the last time Luka had seen them. In Laser Tag, Miku seemed more focused, but not entirely serious as she was now. "Going to put your StepMania skills to the test?" she guessed, mentally cheering when Miku turned red. "Guess I'm losing this round..."

"N-not true!" Miku shouted back, "I'm much better at using the computer..." She knew she was lying, but it hurt to see Luka so discouraged over it, especially since she had spent so much time making sure she was safe during Laser Tag.

She pressed the buttons to go through the list, but ended up not knowing any, so she chose whichever came next. "Is that one okay...?" she weakly asked, looking down at the rainbow colored arrows. She saw Luka nod, focused on the screen in front of her.

"What difficulty?" the pinkette asked, turning her head to look at Miku, who jumped and shrugged, playing with her hands. "Hard it is," she smiled, adoring the look on Miku's face.

Immediately the song began, loudly playing. Gumi stood to see them, interested over who would win. _If they both play StepMania...they should be pretty good. But, Luka-san's numbers didn't look good either, so...oh! Oh, wow! _

Miku looked like a small blue blur, her legs getting every arrow that was passing by at high speed. Not only did she get the combos, but she also added in small movements that made her look even more good. "Wow!" Gumi quietly said, dropping her box in awe. A few people came by to see, whistling and cheering on both.

Luka was doing the same, although with some notes, she couldn't quite keep up to get them, and was impressed yet again by Miku, who seemed to be in a trance. The lights dancing off the game's sign was right in her face, and although it made her heat up even more, she tried to stay within the rhythm. "Crap," she cursed, missing a few notes. "I thought you said you weren't good..." She meant it as a joke, but it seemed to make Miku flinch, and she missed a few herself, making Luka feel guilty.

However, the young girl just kept moving, leaning onto the bar behind her to stay up, although it looked more like her own dance move. "I practice a little...at home. My brother, he bought...well, something like this, and let me have it..."

Once the final notes were coming, Miku's feet had a mind of their own and started sliding against the arrows, and with one final spin, she got the last note.

By the time their scores came up, Miku was the winner, and Luka smiled at her. "Now I see why you're the best at these kind of things," she panted, wiping off sweat from her forehead; she tried to be as fast and agile as Miku was, but found she couldn't do it.

"H-huh?" she blurted, trying not to look at the boys staring at them, but she couldn't shake off the feeling of having their eyes on her back, and turned to the screen, blushing.

Gumi jumped onto the platform, eyes wide, "You were...that, I...awesome! Can I go next?"

Luka nodded, and gave her four coins to use, "Might as well use these before the day is done."

Miku wondered how good Gumi was at the game, as she was average at best when it came to StepMania, but shook her head from the thought. "Which difficulty?" she asked, as if it were really a question; the three were good enough to have hard, and until they were ready to puke it would be their set one.

The song was random as it didn't really matter which one it was, as long as they could dance to it. It began a bit slow, the trio waiting for the speed to pick up.

It happened extremely quick, and the three had been so used to the slowness their lives had all almost gotten depleted. "Wow...that was, uh, unexpected..." Miku said in one breath, stomping to the speed and sound correctly. She stared blankly at the middle of the screen, hardly knowing she was getting any right. Her body felt the air from the vents above as she moved, her hair flowing like a river behind her. Luka and Gumi weren't in her vision anymore, and the more she hit the arrows, the less conscious of her surroundings she was.

"Check that out," a girl whistled, closing her phone. "Isn't that your friend? Only one person should be that good at this kind of stuff." Her blank eyes moved onto her nervous looking girlfriend, and she felt a smile creep onto her face. "Go talk to her."

Said girlfriend jumped, flinching away from the other girl, "Wh-what? I...I can't..." She fiddled her thumbs, ruby eyes turning sad. "There's no way I can..."

The shorter of the two, and more confident, scoffed, "Yeah, I know that. Why call someone a friend if you can't talk to them face to face?" It was a line she was constantly telling her, and although it annoyed her to repeat it, she understood the taller girl's boundaries. "If you can't, it's fine, I won't bother you."

Her girlfriend shook her head, "You're right. Definitely right! Okay, thanks...Neru." She gave the shorter girl a weak smile, and approached the dancing trio, amazed at Miku's agility. It was like she was hyper, and just happened to be hitting all the moves right. _No wonder she's so good at online play..._

Luka and Gumi took a look at each other, knowing they were no match for the shyest of the three. But, even though they knew they would lose, they were still going to give it all they got.

Miku's feet were pounding against the platform, almost sounding like she'd brake them if not for her quick steps. There seemed to be nothing in the world but the music, screen and her breathing; she did find herself taking quick glances at Luka, though, and blushed in embarrassment before returning to her trance.

The last step was one where they held it out, and all three were in the same position for about five seconds before stepping off, breathing hard. Gumi coughed into her hand, feeling nothing but dryness in her mouth. "Miku? Do you have a dollar?" she heaved, wiping off sweat from her neck, "My...mouth's all dry, I need water."

"Uh...I think," the star dancer said, reaching into her pocket. A few bills came out, and the flipped through them before handing her friend a five. "Get us all a bottle...my throat's..." she stopped her sentence at the sight of a tall gray-haired girl standing behind them.

"Hi...Gumi-san, Miku-san," she greeted, looking around to avoid their gazes. Her long hair was tied down by a thin black hair tie, and she had clothes with the colors she usually wore: black, gray or purple. Today was black shorts and a purple tank top with a loose white shirt hanging off her shoulder. Gumi was first to walk off the platform and walk up to her.

"Haku-chan?" she asked, back to her nervous self. It was also her first time talking with Haku, and it somehow made her confidence shut itself off. "Wow...what a coincidence..."

Luka and Miku stepped down as well, letting others have a go at the game, and Luka greeted Haku first, "Hey there. I'm Megurine Luka; are you another one of Miku's online friends?"

"She is...uhm, her name is Yowane Haku," Miku said, looking at her hands; they unconsciously started wringing themselves from nervousness. "I didn't know you, ah...are you here with your...date?"

Miku's eyes moved to where a claw machine was, in ear shot, with a blonde haired girl casually texting on her phone, her other hand holding a soft drink. It didn't look very suspicious, but seeing as the girl would also occasionally look over at them, it seemed pretty convincing.

Haku fidgeted a little, playing with her hands behind her back, "Y-yeah...that's...my girlfriend. Akita Neru," she said, her tone sounding scared of their reaction; Neru wasn't very well liked around anywhere, as she liked to go on any message board to cause trouble. While most people liked to remain anonymous, Neru actually used her own name when making a mess online.

Gumi shrugged, "Well, as long as you two are...happy?" She knew not to judge Haku based off who she dated, but seeing as it was _Neru_ they were talking about, she wanted to make sure.

"We are..." she turned around and gestured to the blonde to come over, which Neru shook her head at, pointing at an invisible watch on her wrist. "Oh yeah...well, I, um...just wanted to say that we should hang out, too...with Miki-san! Maybe next Friday?" Haku's eyes darted around as she said this, her cheeks turning the same color as her eyes. "If...if you want, that is."

Miku and Gumi looked at each other, sending silent messages, before Luka interrupted them, "They'd love to. Maybe even I can come if it's not too much trouble?" She gave Miku a soft smile, and saw Haku nod. "Great."

"So, uh, we have to go...it was nice talking to you two," the gray-haired girl said before sprinting off to the patient blonde. Their hands quickly went to hold each other, and without even a blush, they walked through a crowd of people.

Gumi looked at Miku and Luka, tightly holding her headphones to her chest, "Should we go...play some other things?"

The other two nodded, and before long, they also were swept up in the crowd.

* * *

"It's already dark?" Gumi gasped, looking around as they exited the arcade. The buildings around them were now brightly lit, different colors radiating off their faces and cars passing by. Her green eyes ventured from the dimmed bars to alleys where secluded ramen shops were, "Want to eat before we leave?" she asked, turning around Now there were more people walking around than in the day, making the streets much more louder than before. She held onto her small plush doll of some anime character she found under an air hockey table while Luka and Miku played against each other. During her find, she also found a twenty dollar bill.

Miku was holding a huge stuffed whale, her face currently hidden, as well as her blush. Luka had won it in a claw machine, and offered it to her without an argument. "You ate a lot though...do we have any more money?"

"Eh...about enough that'll get us food somewhere, unless you two have to head home soon?" Luka said, checking her watch. She didn't really want to leave yet, as being with the two shy girls made the day interesting, but also knew that they had parents and siblings that would most likely be angry with them. She saw Miku's twin tails fly around in a circle, and laughed a little.

"I don't...think my parents would be too mad...maybe I should call them..." Gently setting down her whale, she brought her phone out from her pocket, flipping it open. Her eyes widened at the many messages and calls she had gotten, all from either Mikuo or her home. For safety, she dialed Mikuo's number first, although she doubted he'd pick up; he always went partying on the weekend much to their parents distaste, and never answered his phone.

"_Miku? Oh my god, we were so worried about you! Why didn't you call, idiot?" _he yelled through the receiver, nearly deafening her.

She sighed, brushing her bangs for the first time that day, "Sorry. I was at the arcade...with my friends. I lost track of time, I guess." Miku wondered if he would believe it; they had checked the time many times throughout the day, but ignored it due to all the fun they were having.

Mikuo sighed too, _"When are you coming home? They're worried sick about you, ya know..." _Miku smiled, and looked at Luka, then at Gumi.

"Maybe an hour or so? It's only eight, I'll be home by nine, okay? Don't worry, I'm in Shinjuku if you think something's going to happen," she said, holding a thumbs up. Luka didn't seem too convinced, but Gumi was suddenly radiating with energy at being able to go somewhere else.

After a second, Mikuo agreed and they hung up, "Well...that's that," she said, picking up her whale. "Where should we go?" By now the three were comfortable enough that they're choppy sentences were completely gone, and Luka was happy with that.

"There's a bunch of ramen shops down that alley, but that seems like too much for you guys, so we should settle with fast food," the older of the three said, pointing down the street. She made sure they were in front of her while they walked; they would stare at something and nearly knock someone over or trip, and Luka wanted to make sure they wouldn't hurt themselves sightseeing.

The two stared at the people riding their bikes or holding hands, window shopping or heading home from work; it was all new to them, just as everything else, but nighttime was usually when they would lock themselves up in their room to play games and eventually fall asleep. They'd never seen what the town looked like at night.

"Pretty cool. Hey, can we come here next week?" Gumi asked, green eyes wide as she set them on the huge screen above some electronic store. "I wanna go there," she said, pointing to the white building. It was taller than their school, but thinner, and it made her interest go through the roof. Miku couldn't really see what she was talking about, but nodded anyway.

They walked for about a minute longer before Luka stopped, halting any more comments they had about the city. "Here we are. Please tell me you two have had fast food before," she said, opening the doors. A smell of fries and meat reached their noses, Miku and Gumi drawn as they shook their heads. "Well, another first." _They're so cute...I can't believe they've been deprived of so much in their lives._

Luka decided she'd go up to the register this time, seeing the horrified faces of both girls at the mention of it. She got them identical meals while she settled on something else. Getting a number, she thanked the employee and went over to sit with them, only to find Gumi gone. They chose a four-person table by the window, where they could see people walk by and lights dancing off buildings easily. It made Luka wonder just how little of the world they had seen.

"She went to the bathroom," Miku said, leaning against her whale. Her teal eyes locked onto Luka's, making the artist blush a little. "You have pretty eyes, you know?"

Taken aback by the statement, Luka shook her head, "Just an average color. Your's, however, are much prettier. They're natural, aren't they? No contacts?" She'd hope not; it'd be awful if she had been deceived by them, and they turned out to be another average pair.

Raising an eyebrow, Miku shook her head, "No...I'm way too scared to put any in, and I don't need glasses. I don't know how I got them; my mom's are dark blue and my dad's are black."

"That's pretty cool. Maybe your grandmother or aunt, someone had to give them to you," Luka replied, staring at the receipt in her hand "Either way, I really like your eyes."

She blushed, and played with her hands under the table with a blush on her face. "Thanks..."

* * *

Miku sat in front of her computer, headphones on and fingers pressing the keyboard arrows while her mind was off somewhere else. Nobody else was online save a few people, so Miku decided to play by herself while waiting to see if any of her friends would come on.

After they had finished eating, Luka had to go a seperate way, but bid them goodnight while also giving Gumi her phone number. Miku didn't want her to go, but knew they needed to, and thanked her one thousand times before Gumi had to pull her away.

An fun-filled conversation later, they arrived at Gumi's house where they also exchanged numbers, and Miku left feeling content, happy and giddy. She got a pretty long lecture from her parents, and Mikuo went out once he knew she was safe, and he never really cared about her well being before.

_Well, this was your first time going out, idiot. _

"Oh, Miki-chan's online!" she said, closing out of her game after receiving a chat message.

_ChibiSF2A said: Miku-chan! I saw you and Gumi with this other person in Shinjuku! I'm so happy you guys decided to finally hang out. (: _

_hachuneV1 said: Did you? We didn't see you at all...well, I couldn't, I was busy carrying a huge whale. Oh! Guess what? We talked with Haku-chan today, too! She's really nice, but you'll never believe who she's dating! _

Although it wasn't her place to really say, Miku knew Miki wouldn't go be a big mouth and tell everyone she knew, so she felt it was safe enough to stay a secret.

_ChibiSF2A said: Haku-chan? You saw her girlfriend too? Who is it? :O_

_hachuneV1 said: Promise not to tell, because she looked REALLY scared to tell us. Do you know who Akita Neru is? Blonde hair in a side ponytail, cellphone all the time? Yeah, her! _

_ChibiSF2A said: …_

_ChibiSF2A said: No way! x3 I thought Akita-san was just some mean person, but for her to actually like someone like Haku-chan is pretty cute! Aww...I wanna see them together now!_

_ChibiSF2A said: So who was that other person with you guys? She seemed pretty older...was she a pedo? xc _

_hachuneV1 said: Yeah, they're really cute together, it's like...I don't know how to describe it, but...you need to see them for yourself, and keep it a secret. She invited us to hang out Friday, so you might see Akita-san, maybe not. NO. She is not a pedo! Her name is Megurine Luka, and I THINK she goes to college, she never really answered my question. I see her painting in the park on the way to school a lot. _

_ChibiSF2A said: Secret it is! Friday? Okay! I'll need pictures. Megurine? Isn't that, like...a food thing? College chick, didn't know you liked them Miku-chan! ;3 Anyway, it's getting pretty late for me. Just wanted to check on you and see if you were okay. Is that weird? lol, night Miku-chan! _

"I don't like college girls!" she yelled at her monitor in defense even though Miki couldn't hear her. She huffed and closed the chat box, seeing a lot more names than she normally did. Luka and Gumi were online as well as Haku. "I haven't talked to her lately, I'll ask her." Moving her mouse over Haku's name, she clicked it and chose to challenge her.

_hachuneV1 said: Hi Haku-chan! I never got to ask, but why weren't you in school yesterday? You didn't look very sick, but I'm just wondering; if it's personal, you don't have to answer! _

It took a while for her to respond, and Miku wondered why she hadn't accepted her challenge yet. "Is she not on her computer?" However, a new message made her jump, the volume raised high so the noise hurt her eardrums.

_Shiroko said: Hi Miku-san. (: Neru was actually the one sick, so I wanted to stay with her. That's weird, isn't it? . _

_hachuneV1 said: Not at all! I think it's cute, to be honest with you. ;) But she's not mean to you, is she? _

_Shiroko said: Is it? I just thought we're mostly just...there, you know? I'm glad. No, why would she be? Neru's actually really nice if you get to know her, completely opposite from what she makes herself out to be. Oh, and sorry for not accepting, I've got chores to do and stuff (yeah, this late...) so I can't really stay online much longer. _

_hachuneV1 said: Well, I just thought because she's so mean when she texts, and she just, well, looks mean. I'm happy she's not. You guys aren't "just there"! Anyone would notice you two if you were a public couple! Aww, okay. Sorry for holding you up then. D:_

_Shiroko said: Yeah, you should meet her when we get together Friday. She'll be a little shy at first, but she gets used to people quickly. They would? Good or bad? :( It's okay! My parents are lenient when it comes to chores, they just like it better when it gets done. :P Well, I should go. Night Miku-chan! :)_

Once Haku logged out, Miku saw a few other players online, as well as the one that messaged her the other night. "Katamari!" she whispered, clicking on their name. She sent them a challenge as well as message.

_hachuneV1 said: Hey there. So, wanna do some late night training? I hear it greatly boosts your energy, lol. XD _

_Katamari O-Renji said: Does it now? First I've heard of it. Let's taste those rainbows! :P_

* * *

_**A/N: **_

Woo! We did it! An update within a day. :D Hope you liked this one, it had more bonding than we intended, but it helps people grow their self-confidence, so we figured, why not?

There will be an intro to new characters (such as Katamari!) as well as more Miki. :3 If we can do it, it might be posted the next day as well.


	3. Coincidence

_**A/N: **_

Sorry for the slight delay. Fatigue and slight laziness took over the both of us. XD Anyway, thank you all for your reviews, favorites, follows (what is this, Twitter now?) and other alerts! We love having a booming inbox, but we also thank you shadow readers (you know who you are. ;D). This chapter's not as long as the last one, because we just had so much stuff to do and finish, but it's at least lengthy?

To answer a question asked by _**Shriekmon**_…nope! Katamari is not Rin, even though orenji is orange (it was a trap!). You'll just have to read on and find out.

_**Anon**_! We looked up that Miku DDR video…Holy Crap! That's amazing! We didn't even know that existed, but it's freakin' sweet. xD Now we see what you mean.

**Disclaimer: **We own nothing, not the games, not the moves, not the names, not anything you can think of is ours, aside from our word choices.

* * *

_**StepMania**_

* * *

_**Chapter 3: Coincidence **_

Luka closed her eyes for the third time that morning, her ceiling beginning to be a pro at their staring contest. The sun wasn't out yet, but she could see through her curtains the midnight blue sky, and decided she didn't need to go back to sleep.

A light rattle shook her, scaring her for a moment before she turned around to pet the sleeping kitten on her spare pillow. It was a small thing, with dark black fur and bright blue eyes; they reminded Luka of the shy teenager she had met not too long ago. Though the picture of her face was still fresh in her memory, whenever she tried to paint said girl, she would end up creating something completely different and throw it in the garbage in frustration.

Miku struck an interest in her, and their friendship, while short, was something she held dear. She liked being around her, even if it made her seem a little more than creepy.

"Am I?" she asked the napping animal, softly stroking its fur. Her eyes, dark from the lack of light, drifted to her computer. No doubt would Miku still be online, she seemed the type to like being up all night.

With a sigh, Luka sat up, not feeling as tired as she thought she would while getting out. Her apartment was kept cool from her bedroom window behind her bed being open. A small breeze made the curtain flaps move, brushing against some paintings she put up on the wall.

Her trek to her desk was short, as the room was pretty small compared to the rest of the place, and moving the mouse to wake it up, she flinched at the bright light stabbing her eyes. She eagerly sat in her chair, clicking on the icon for the game. "I hope she's on, anyway…"

She entered the online boards, and was happy to see Miku's name colored in. Realizing she was growing too happy, Luka coughed to compose herself, "There's no reason to act like a schoolgirl." Despite saying that, her words contradicted her actions, as she was quick to click on Miku's name and type in a message.

_Mazimaru said: Hi Miku. What are you doing up so late? I thought after everything yesterday you'd be dead tired, lol. _

Luka rubbed her eye, finally feeling her fatigue catching up with her; it was her first time actually chatting with Miku online since they exchanged information, and she wasn't about to let her sleep ruin it for her. "I'm so pathetic," she dryly laughed, not especially caring about it.

A few minutes later, her chat blinked, Miku's message showing up. The way her words were, she seemed excited to be talking to Luka, making the artist smile at her monitor. "Why are you so cute? I've never actually met a shy person this adorable; her and Gumi," she told nobody in particular. It didn't matter if she was talking to herself as only her and her sleeping cat lived in the apartment.

_hachuneV1 said: Luka-san! :D Oh, uhh…couldn't sleep? Haha, actually I just couldn't resist playing, you know? Addicting games are addicting. _

_hachuneV1 said: Actually…what are YOU doing up so late? I thought you painted and stuff in the daytime? _

"Not exactly," Luka told herself, typing in the same thing. "I paint when inspiration comes, which usually isn't a lot." She wasn't going to admit that most of the time she was using her skills to paint the girl she spoke to, she'd die before saying anything.

Miku took a while longer to reply, and Luka was beginning to think she went to bed. "Huh. Well, she is only a teen, after all," she tried to justify, ignoring the sadness creeping out from her eyes. The bright screen in front of her made white squares reflect off them, as well as brightening them a lot more. _Stop. You're a real creep, Luka! _

_hachuneV1 said: Sooorryy! My dad was walking around to check if anything was wrong, I had to pretend I was asleep. I type so loud, I swear…D: _

_Mazimaru said: It's fine, it's fine. I'm up because I usually wake up by this time. I love how everything looks at dawn. _

Of course she was lying, but she wasn't about to tell the reason she was up the truth, even if it did hurt her a little to be lying to Miku. The girl would accept anything told to her as the truth, but Luka was going to make sure there were no secrets between them. Lying to the girl was almost the same as manipulating her.

_Mazimaru said: So what do you usually do on Sundays? I'm guessing the norm: playing games? _

_hachuneV1 said: Pretty much! XD My parents work most of the time and my brother has his friends, so I'm usually left alone. I use that time to just, well, play this. Pathetic, isn't it? ):_

Luka furrowed her brow, appalled at the lack of self-confidence Miku had. "She can be one tough cookie when she wants to be…"

_Mazimaru said: Hey, what do I keep telling you? You shouldn't worry about that stuff! There's nothing wrong with being shy and introverted. I like you just the way you are. ;) _

After hitting the enter key, Luka felt like a dumbbell had fallen on her head, causing her to slam her head onto her desk. "Great…I think I'm officially a creepy person. Way to go!" she yelled, pulling her hair into a ponytail. Even if the window was open, she was beginning to feel her neck heat up, and her hair wasn't helping at all.

_HachunneV1 said: Luka-san?_

_Mazimaru said: Hm?_

_hachuneV1 said: Would it be okay for us to hang out today, too? I think Gumi-san's going to sleep all day today, but me and you, like…at the park or something? _

"Miku…your cuteness level just went way up!" Luka said cheerfully, typing in her answer.

_Mazimaru said: Sure! Hey…are you sure you're not asking me out on a date? :o _

_hachuneV1 said: A date? No, no! Just to hang out! I liked hanging out yesterday, and I just felt like seeing you today…that's weird isn't it? Totally weird! _

_Mazimaru said: I was kidding, Miku. XD Yeah we can hang out, what time is good enough for you? _

_HachuneV1 said: Um…you said you liked the morning, right? Maybe around eight or nine, is that okay? _

_Mazimaru said: Of course. I'll text you later then, okay? See you! _

Pushing her chair from her desk, Luka swirled in it, almost letting out a loud cheer of accomplishment. Her neighbors didn't like noise though, and constantly complained about her music being too loud while she painted, so she held it back and jumped up instead.

"Alright!"

* * *

Miku nearly threw her headphones at her monitor from shock, as if they were on fire. She stared at their conversation, having it open minutes after Luka had logged off; the words she asked throughout it made her cringe in shame. "She probably was busy today! I'm so stupid…" She pouted a little, bringing her knees up to her chest and leaning back into her computer chair.

"Well…no use avoiding it, I guess…better get ready?" The question hung in the air, and she face palmed, realizing just what time it was. She dragged it down her face, one eye fixated on the chat box. _Why'd I have to ask her so early…? They'll all wake up if I turn the shower on! _

Realizing there was nothing she could do, Miku slowly stood up, her back sore and legs wobbly from the amount of time she spent sitting with them crossed. She slowly walked to her door and grabbed her towel, gulping from taking such a risk. "For Luka-san!"

With the thought of her supportive friend, she nearly ripped the door from it's hinges, and tip toed to the bathroom, only to find it being used. Mikuo always left his door open, and through the darkness she saw the lump on his bed slowly rising and falling. Which meant either her mom or dad was using their only bathroom.

"Crap," she cursed, running into the living room to hide behind the couch. By now the sky was turning into a brighter blue, a slightly brighter light than the hallway bringing color into her hiding place.

She poked her head out, waiting to see when the one inside would walk out, and contemplated walking back into her room when it suddenly opened, the mirror right next to the door and luckily showing Miku who was there, showing a blonde she had never seen before. _Mikuo brought someone home? When was this? _

Then it occurred to her that she had her headphones in most of the night, and face palmed. "Leave it to Mikuo to freak me out like this…" she whispered, standing up. Miku took a step backwards, and felt something soft hit her back. Waiting a second to see if it was reality without looking behind her, Miku kept her mouth tightly shut despite the scream threatening to come out, but let it out once she felt a hand touching her arm.

"Whoa, calm down there, dear," Kyoko said, holding Miku's shoulders. She had a suspicious look in her eyes, and Miku wanted nothing but to run into her bed and hide from them. "So…why are you up so late, bed unmade, and computer on?" she asked sweetly, pushing her daughter to the couch.

She saw Miku gulp, a blush on her face and her hands playing with her hair, "Uhm…I was going to…hang out with a friend today," she said shyly, staring at the carpeted floor. "We agreed to meet early to get breakfast." It was a lie, but Miku wanted something to get her out of this awkward conversation, especially since her mom now had a surprised look on her face.

"Wow," Kyoko said, running a hand through her short hair, "I'm happy, Miku. But you shouldn't be sneaking around the house like this, it scared your father."

_Wait, what? _Teal eyes widened in question, making her mom wink, "Daddy got scared? He really is a baby, huh?" She gave a small giggle, bringing her towel up to her face to smother it, but once her mom joined in she couldn't help it.

"Shut up!" Mikuo snapped from his room, sounding extremely cranky. Both at the couch rolled their eyes and Kyoko let Miku walk off before getting up herself.

In the bathroom, Miku stared at herself in the mirror, grimacing at the sight of her dark bags on her face. They were common to see, but after a hot shower and eating something, she'd feel better, and they'd magically disappear until nighttime. Today she aimed for her energy to be on the highest level as it could be.

Without looking in the mirror again, she slipped off her pajamas quickly, folding them and placing them on the toilet. It was early, so there wouldn't be anybody seeing her when she walked out; she was also in too fast a rush to get in there to think about grabbing clothes, anyway. Her underwear came off next and she opened the hamper underneath the shelf, throwing them in there before walking into the shower. Although it scared her to do so, she turned on the water, and jumped from the usual sound that now suddenly was making the biggest noise ever. Reaching her hand under it, she shivered, the water too cold to even be considered comfortable.

It was strange, seeing through the window a dark sky, but it filled her with happiness knowing Luka was enjoying it wherever she was. The thought then brought her into a small trance, waiting for the water to warm up. It had only been a few days, but Miku felt a small attachment to the pink-haired artist. She wondered if what they were doing bothered her, and frowned. _I'm such a pessimist…_

During her shower she stared at the tiled wall, eyes blank but showing she was in a different world. The water felt nice, and wrapped around her like a blanket; if it weren't for the back of her head telling her she had something to do later, Miku knew she would fall asleep.

_Does she like being around me? Today we'll be alone, so…I could ask her, I guess. Wait. We'll be alone…? _Is_ it a date, or really just us hanging out? _

She didn't notice, but the shampoo was now running down her arm in large amounts, plopping into the moving water rush before falling through the drain. Feeling a cold sensation and wondering where it was coming from, she jumped at seeing the green line flowing down her body. "Crap," she whispered, washing it off.

Even when drying her hair fifteen minutes later, Miku was contemplating whether or not she was getting ready for a date, when a shirtless Mikuo walked in to brush his teeth, content at his full night's rest, but jumped at seeing her. "Whoa, didn't expect to see you up and about. Morning," he said, reaching around her to get his white toothbrush. She handed him the toothpaste and he hummed in thanks, getting to cleaning his mouth.

"Have fun last night?" she teasingly asked, making him spit on her black shirt a little, "Thanks…" He shrugged and continued, letting the question hang in the air. The hairdryer made the silence less awkward, even if they had these kinds of mornings all the time.

Mikuo spit into the sink, grabbing a handful of water to get rid of the rest, "Fun. I didn't wake you, did I?" he joked, scratching the back of his head and trying to look apologetic. It stopped when he saw her serious face, "What about you?"

She frowned, not understanding him at all, "What do you mean?" Her hair was halfway done, and she suddenly missed Gumi helping her out; it truly was a monster to fix.

"Ah, nothing much. Who're you going on a date with today though? Miki-san? Gumi-san?" Miku gave him a shocked face, and he raised an eyebrow in equal confusion, "What? You're obviously dressed to go out with someone…Is it a guy?"

She glared at him and pointed the hairdryer in his face, making him cringe from the heat, "Out!"

"Wait a minute! I need-"

"I don't care. Go! Now!"

* * *

Luka rubbed her arm and checked her watch for the fourth time that morning. She made sure to get there at exactly eight no matter what, hurrying through her apartment to get everything and even skipping breakfast. Now with still no sign of Miku, she heard her stomach growl and regretted not eating before leaving.

"Luka-san?"

Teal hair in a high ponytail caught her attention, and Luka resisted the urge to have her mouth agape. Today the tealette was bold, and wore a pretty short grey skirt with a black shirt and a grey tie. She also had high black socks that reached her knees, making her look pretty much like a schoolgirl. It made Luka blush, and she mentally slapped herself for literally ogling the girl. It _was_ a different outfit than her school uniform or the one she wore the previous day; it had more of a confident look to it and that she couldn't deny.

"Morning," she said after Miku reached her, slightly out of breath. "You ran here? You could've taken your time you know."

Miku shook her head, her ponytail swaying behind her, "I had a feeling you would be here early…so I didn't want you to wait long." She straightened up and blushed, shuffling her feet, "I actually, well…forgot to eat when I left, so…" With a blush, she scratched her cheek awkwardly, hoping she wasn't inconveniencing the artist, but was surprised with Luka's laugh.

"I did too…shall we go eat first, then?" She saw Miku faintly nod, and looked around before facing the street. "I know a pretty good place, follow me."

Miku jerked upwards in a frenzy, suddenly freaked out at the artist walking out in the middle of the road. "Luka-san! Wh-what…you could get hit!" Her voice fell on deaf ears, and Luka stopped in the middle of the street, beckoning her to join. Miku shook her head violently, already predicting her death.

"If you run, you might miss rush hour!" the pinkette tried, confident in her belief of the shaking girl ten feet away. The street was never usually busy, since she spent most of her days in the same area; if it were dangerous in any way she would've taken another route.

A guy with a bicycle passed by her, and Miku gulped, tugging on her tie. It was, once again, her first time trying something, but what frightened her was having to cross a street that could possibly make her life flash before her eyes. _I can do this…I can do this! _

With one hesitant step, she closed her eyes and just focused on moving forward, the morning people around her happily chatting fading away. The small shops opening up and owners sweeping no longer existed, just the patient Luka.

Two steps later, she suddenly opened her eyes and frantically dashed across the rest of the street, passing by Luka and nearly slamming into a parked car.

Luka, after checking for any cars, lightly jogged to catch up to her, an apologetic smile on her face, "Sorry. Should we not have done that?" She sensed Miku's discomfort and fear the moment she hesitated, but didn't deem it as very important or noteworthy. Safe to say she was extremely regretting that decision now feeling her gaze move from Miku's dazed face to her white knuckles.

However, Miku straightened herself up and shook her head, "I'm okay, I think…" She nervously looked down at her hands and smiled a bit, "It was…different, I think, but…fun. Does that make sense?"

Grabbing the tealette's hands and tightly holding them, Luka smiled again, "It does. Now, let's go get some food, hm?"

Even after their conversation had ended, Luka didn't let go of her hand, and Miku stared at them in awe. Luka's hand was warm and soft, but comforting and strong, showing just how supportive she was being to Miku's quiet and timid personality. She suddenly realized just how different they actually were despite Luka's persistence to deny it, but Miku liked her just the way she was.

Their footsteps were slightly out of sync, so Miku had to constantly run to keep up, and eventually latched onto Luka's sleeve once they hit the more populated areas. The buildings were similar to those near the arcade, but these seemed more like small offices than anything. All the windows were a glossy black color, the sky and other buildings near them reflecting off each other while not showing the inside. Adults in business suits walked all around them, leaving them to nearly be the only ones wearing color.

"Those places are for real boring people," Luka stated, bringing Miku out of her reverie. She let her eyes wander from the bakery showing their freshly made pastries to the ramen shops that had old people calmly opening them. "I'd never forgive myself if I had to coop myself up in an office all day…"

_Huh…? _Miku's face greatly fell, and she felt Luka stop but didn't dare look at her in fear she would finally hear her ridicule.

"I'm sorry," the artist softly spoke after an awkward silence, gripping Miku's hand tighter, "That wasn't very nice of me, was it?" She sighed and brushed her hair in an effort to blow it off, but still felt the gripping regret slapping her heart and mind.

Teal eyes closed and Miku leaned against Luka's shoulder, seeking comfort they both knew she would give. "No. You weren't talking about me, so it's okay. I'd understand that most people don't like that stuff," she softly whispered, shutting her eyes even tighter to avoid any embarrassing tears that were threatening to parade down her cheeks.

Luka sighed and shut her eyes as well, not really knowing what to do. "Miku?" she asked, leaning a bit sideways to get a glimpse of her face. Miku kept it lowered and out of eyesight, and she couldn't help but feel her chest tighten. "C'mon, I know just the place that'll cheer you up," Luka said, gently tugging her hand forward. She didn't know what she would do with her if Miku did start crying as she wasn't very experienced in the art of tears.

Miku didn't say anything, but followed her, her want to go home and hide increasing. Before, she was slightly glad it was going to be only the two of them, but was starting to have a need for Gumi at her side; the girl was already slowly gaining confidence in herself, and it would have been good to have her energetic attitude around. But she shook her head, feeling like she was insulting Luka by wanting to distance herself.

"Sorry," she quietly murmured, hoping her words reached the artist's ears, "I'm being dramatic…" Her shoes were suddenly very interesting, and she tried to ignore the blush on her face when Luka squeezed her hand again, telling her she had heard.

* * *

"C'mon, Rin…do we even know if she lives there?" Len whined, dragging his feet across the concrete in an effort to rest while trying to keep up with his sister. "Why are you even tracking her down?" He wiped his hands on his jeans, glaring at her back.

His twin scoffed, turning to glare at him, "No, but that doesn't mean we can't try! You're such a prick, Len." Her ribbon seemed to agree with her, since it came alive to nod at him, as if saying she was right. Len sighed at her in irritation and let her go on her merry way.

The two were walking through the park, Rin only seeing the exit at the end while Len was having trouble resisting the benches under the tall trees. "Can we-"

"If you want to be by yourself, that's fine with me. But! Remember, I'm the one mom gave money for lunch," she interrupted, stomping her way through the dirt path. She didn't even stop once to give the blonde boy a glance. Len could never say no to food, so Rin would always hold that over him whenever he complained about something.

He sighed, his right arm playing with his small ponytail, "Fine…later, then." He decided not to give into her demands this time and headed in the opposite direction where his resting spot would be. "I'll call you when I'm ready to join you on your adventure again."

"You can hunt for money then!" she cried back to him, not once wavering in her steps. _Len will not shake me when I'm probably so close to her! It's like I can sense her…_

Turning her head to see if she was correct in her guess, Rin nearly fell from shock at what her sky blue eyes had found. "No way!" she yelled, scaring off a woman who was walking by her. "Miku-chan!"

She saw her target across the street jump, knowing only two people in the entire city had that hair color, that hair that long, too. The woman next to Miku made Rin raise an eyebrow, but soon she was smiling like an idiot. She ran across the grass and jumped over the black fence separating herself from the sidewalk, taking an empty crosswalk to reach the tealette.

"I've been looking for you all morning!" she said, sparing no details. It made Miku flinch again, and she pouted at the sight of her looking a little scared. _Is she always this…_Her eyes moved from a now fidgeting Miku to the pink-haired woman, aquamarine eyes darting from place to place and making herself look invisible. "Hi. I'm Kagamine Rin, Miku-chan's classmate," she said with a short bow.

The artist had to look a little lower than usual when meeting someone, but she found the somewhat small girl a bit adorable, "Megurine Luka. I'm Miku's friend." Rin found it a little sketchy, with their hands tightly holding onto each other and the small amount of distance between them. Not to mention how gorgeous this woman was; she seemed the type to have a boyfriend already, so the blonde waved it off.

Miku noticed her stare, and stepped away from Luka, their hands separating instantly, "Uhm…why were you?" The question seemed to catch Rin by surprise, and Miku was starting to wonder just why the girl had such an interest in her.

"Oh! Len and I saw you at the arcade yesterday! You were pretty awesome at DDR!" she replied excitedly, "I knew you were the type to be awesome at games and stuff."

Luka wanted the conversation to drift elsewhere, sensing the awkward vibes radiating off the single pony tailed girl. It didn't look like things would end well, but Luka had no way of knowing that without either girls saying anything. With a quiet murmur of apology, Luka coughed, "She is, isn't she? I honestly thought she was in her own world when we played against each other, but it's pretty cool to know she has that talent hidden somewhere."

The shorter girl was surprised at Luka's answering for her, and found it extremely weird for Miku to nod while still staring down at her shoes. It didn't stop her from smiling brightly though, "So…are you two on a date or something?"

She was expecting Luka to say something like, "No, no, I have a boyfriend. We're just hanging out is all," but Miku's face turning bright red and Luka nonchalantly shrugging made her extremely wary of her presence all of a sudden, and the air turned awkward.

"Uhm…okay, then. I'll see you tomorrow at school then!" Her words were rushed and she slowly walked backwards, a wavering smile on her lips before turning, nearly running away from them like the plague.

Miku bit the bottom of her lip, wondering what Rin was thinking about that made her leave so abruptly, and she turned to see Luka reacting in the same manner. Her upcoming sentence was cut off by a loud grumble echoing out of her stomach, and she laughed a little, not needing to say anything to let Luka know they were starving.

* * *

It was a small shop, a few employees cleaning off tables and others taking orders of those already seated. Miku felt a little strange walking into a family restaurant, but saw Luka giving her a look that asked if she was comfortable. "N-not really…but I want to! I can't let this…awkwardness…get the best of me," she answered seriously, her hands stuck to her sides, crushing her skirt. She tried not to, but couldn't help feeling like she was beginning to be a nuisance for everyone, even if she didn't know that many people anyway.

"Okay, but the employees here are pretty lenient about things, so don't be shy around them; the head waitress really hates that. But she's probably off today," Luka informed, opening the door to let her in. Miku silently thanked her and they walked toward the podium where a bored looking redhead stood, twirling her pigtailed hair. It looked similar to Miku's, but much wilder and fierce with its bright color. She seemed extremely familiar, and Miku could only stare at her as she did the same with an exasperated look. Her uniform was all black with a fiery red tie and her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, showing how pale her skin was.

"You again, huh? Out on a date?" she asked, cheery voice gone; Luka did say it was a lenient place after all, but there was no way to know the employees were that way as well. "Alright, table for two?"

Luka nodded, a smile on her face even with the slightly rude attitude from the redhead, "Yes please. Something seems to be bothering you this morning, Cul-san. Troubles with _her_ again?" Miku jumped and raised her head, almost face palming when realizing the two knew each other in some way. _Should've let her get the bands yesterday…_

Casting the two a harsh stare, Cul sighed and nodded with a blush on her face while grabbing two menus. It was a brightly lit place with yellow walls and comfortable booths made for larger parties that would be way too spacious for the both of them. The windows to their right were huge and gave a beautiful view of the main plaza that Miku hadn't seen before, shooting her curiosity through the roof.

"Here you are," Cul said not too monotonously now and showing them a small but spacious two person table, "Want to start off with drinks or should I come by later?" Their menus gently slid on the tabletop, and the redhead eyed them carefully.

Luka shook her head, "We'll figure out what we want in a bit, thank you." Cul nodded and walked away, so she scooted Miku's chair out for her and could see the rose colored blush sliding from her neck while she seated herself. "So, what do you have in mind to eat?" she asked softly, resting her chin in her palm.

"I-I dunno…what do they have here?" It _did_ seem like a relaxed place, but with her lack of knowledge of literally everything aside from cereal and toast, she didn't know what to order. Her hands made a search for the menu in front of her, but when the flaps opened, nothing helped her in her confusion.

Eyes scanning the same thing but on a different page, Luka hummed, fingers lightly stroking her chin in thought. "I'd settle with something light, who knows what'll come later in the day," she said, casting a sneaky glance to the girl across from her. Luka didn't understand what was making Miku so interesting to look at, but it made her stomach do a few flips at seeing her teal eyebrows furrowed in thought, face nearly buried in the menu. It was adorable, and she had chosen the perfect moment to capture it. "Miku?"

"Hm?" Miku looked up but was blinded in an instant, a circle of bright light invading her senses. She flinched back from the shock but could hear her racing heartbeat in her ears and lights dancing in the darkness behind her eyelids. "Luka-san? That's not funny," she mumbled, pressing her palms into her eyes. It only dawned on her that she had her picture taken but couldn't hide off her blush this time, "You could've just asked."

"I'm sorry," Luka quickly apologized with a shudder of laughter. Miku's reaction was just as adorable as her confused position seconds ago, and the artist tried to compose herself; other customers were beginning to stare at them and Luka knew Miku would die if she were to catch their irritated glares. "I shouldn't have done that. Sorry."

Even with the apology Miku felt a bit antagonized, and crossed her arms to create a sort of barrier between them, "Did you take a picture, or was it just for fun?" She was scared of the answer, and though both answers would probably hurt, she knew the better option was definitely the former.

Luka nodded, and shook her head after seeing Miku's confusion again, her arms tightening around themselves, "I took a picture. You really have your adorable moments, and remember, I have been wanting to paint a portrait of you in exchange for your username on StepMania. I just can never get the right feel to it and mess up. This'll give me the best resource to help." She felt guilty and regret fell from her heart to her stomach, her appetite gone despite her explanation, but Miku seemed to understand and nodded at her.

"Just…I don't like pictures, so…you should ask first," she said, her index fingers pushing against each other. Her eyes fell to her menu and she took in a small breath, "I think I'm going with, um…the Belgian Waffles?"

"Alright!" A deep feminine voice said cheerfully, making the online player teeter backwards in her chair. The waitress smiled and caught the back of it with her leg, calm burgundy eyes focused on Miku. Her hair was a light salmon color, with a thin ponytail running along her back before ending in a thick wave like a fox tail. "What would you like to drink?" Her uniform was different from Cul's, instead of all black her shirt was white with a puffy ribbon instead of a tie as well as black pants and a matching black apron.

Luka held her hand near her chest, not having heard the girl approach, "Iroha, don't do that. You know I hate it." She gave her a small joking smile and picked her menu back up. "Oh, Miku, what do you want to drink?"

The two sounded so insanely alike Miku had trouble figuring out who was talking to her until she simply answered in a meek voice, "Just…w-water, please…"

Iroha nodded, her tail-like hair swaying like a rope before she stretched her hand to slide across the table and grab Miku's menu from under her arms. She simply smiled and turned to Luka, "So, you're out on a date? Wow, I don't think I've seen you go out with _anyone_, Luka!" She chuckled and avoided the glare coming from Cul across the restaurant, "Ignore her, she and Yu-chan are having a fight."

The two noticed they were the only ones in Cul's line of sight now, and Miku was suddenly thankful for having her back facing the hostess.

"I never did date anyone in school, Iroha," Luka commented while gazing teasingly up at the younger waitress, "I'll have the Savory Platter, since your toast will no doubt cause Miku to spasm and die on the floor…with a strawberry Italian soda. Oh, haven't they been constantly on a sort of up and down relationship?"

Iroha nodded and scribbled the order on her small notepad, licking her thumb and tightly pressing it into the corner of the paper so there was a nice crinkle on the bottom. "Got it! They should be out in about…ten minutes? Since their first date! They're cute though!" With that, her small feet led her into the kitchen behind swinging doors, her hair following her without getting caught despite its length.

"What's in the platter?" Miku curiously asked, trying to process what had just happened. Luka's order had made much more sense than her's, but if what the artist said was true, she wasn't looking forward to seeing her food, thus leading up to her question.

Luka lightly tapped her fingers on the wooden table to the beat of a song playing in the background, "Hmm…well, lots of stuff, but that'd be the vague thing to say. It's a type of scramble so it's eggs with bacon and onions, cheese, bananas and other things I wasn't told last time I had it. It's really good though. Iroha is one of the two people who make it, and she's an amazing chef."

She nodded in a slightly nervous fashion and fiddled with her fingers while trying to figure out what to say next, "S-so…you know the people working here?" The question seemed a little off, but why, she didn't and couldn't pinpoint what it was.

"Mhm. I like to come here and think about what I'm going to work on next, so by being a regular and Iroha's classmate during high school, we've become close," Luka nodded, making invisible patterns on the table; her finger's movements were smooth and soft, much like her voice in Miku's mind. "Though…I could do without Cul's attitude sometimes, she can have the worst fights with her girlfriend when they want, and it's surprising to hear someone like _her_ has one...but she turns into a real monster. Like today."

_Ah…so she _is_ a college student. Well, she looks too elegant and beautiful to even look like she goes to high school…I'm so dumb! _

Miku giggled a little, and took a sharp intake of breath at the sound of it. Luka, however, was staring at her like she was another creature from some planet outside Earth. The two let out some hearty laughs after a moment of silence, and talked about all kinds of subjects ranging from school to family, of which Luka told her lived in France except her cousin and his daughter.

During their meal Luka insisted on taking a few pictures of Miku while she ate, but would always get rejected much to her disappointment. Her cool blue eyes would make sure to study everything about her in its stead, almost reaching a line she promised not to cross and keeping to that promise while Miku would shyly do the same, though trying to do it more in secret although she failed sometimes and caught Luka raising an eyebrow with an amused glint in her eyes.

* * *

"Hey, stop cooping yourself up in your room, it's not good for you," a soft and quiet voice said, its owner holding a tray of food. "Cul-san's probably miserable enough…" Her hair, tied in a low ponytail with a loose ribbon brushed against the oak wood door that had been slammed shut to prevent anyone from entering, even her own sister.

There was no response, and the girl holding the silver tray knocked once more, not making so much as a flinch from a hard object hitting the door protecting her face. "Yukari," she said softly, her palm touching the door solemnly, "You can't do this forever, you know that. She loves you."

Her smile appeared when light footsteps pretending to be secret neared the door, a shadow replacing the light from her open window. "Aria…she…I know she does, but…I can't help what I like, it's a huge part of me, being like this. If she can't…accept me, the way I am, then…we can't be together. I know you wouldn't enjoy it if you were in my position," Yukari wept, her head hitting the door from pressing her forehead against it.

"I'll help you," Ia said, gripping the door handle to tell her sister she was walking in. "We'll find people with the same interests, and we'll convince Cul-san that playing games like that one is not bad."

Yukari fell onto her bed, letting Ia set her tray of breakfast on the empty nightstand. The small window above it gave little light, but it was enough for them to see each other in it. "How will we find people like that?" she sniffed, rubbing her amethyst colored eyes. She knew she looked like a complete mess, with her hair sprawled everywhere in midair, and pajamas wrinkled and wet from crying into them.

Ia gave her a confident smile, and sat close to her on the comfortable single bed, "A contest. There's a game similar, right? Where you move your body instead of your fingers." Her hand searched for Yukari's and squeezed when she found it, never letting her gaze waver from her sister's, "People who are good at the computer game are good at that one as well, I've seen it before."

"That's not true," Yukari tried to protest, voice weak and hollow from her previous sorrows, "You don't know who does and who doesn't just by watching them."

"That's a good point. Tell me what your username is," Ia said, stepping near the computer in the corner, a thing she noticed Yukari did since having a fight with her beloved. She watched Yukari debate with herself and patiently waited for her sister to respond, opening up the game's homepage.

With a sigh and hands covering her face, Yukari mumbled, "Katamari…O-Renji. The password is the one I use for everything else."

* * *

_**A/N: **_

We somehow took forever to update and I was like, "YOOOOOO! We gotta hurry!" So we tried to push off our need to sleep and finished this. Yes, Katamari is Yuzuki Yukari! (what a twist!) IA will still be referred to as Ia (no capital A), but her family will call her Aria due to her actually being Aria of the Planetes. The Kagamines are important, but they will probably only be shown a little (like in this chapter) until they are actually needed. We like using different Vocaloids. :3 Regulars like Meiko and Kaito _might_ appear, but we're not sure of that yet.

Oh! Yes, the two Yuzuki sisters will be hosting a DDR contest! Next chapter will have more of it and since NegiToro are having an outing…whoa! Spoilers. Though we will confirm now that Luka does indeed have a crush...if you hadn't noticed. xD There was something else we had to say, but we lost it...

We'll try even harder to get the next chapter out quickly, but we're killing ourselves with that…so expect chapter 4 to come out in a few days.


	4. Crushed

_**A/N: **_

Yay! We failed at our attempt to get it done within a day…life got to us and we had stuff to get out of our system before continuing, but it will be about the same length as everything else and it was some more DDR action. :D IA and Yukari are the focus this time (however! Miku is still the main), but we also have some MikixGumi action later on. Miku still likes Miki (not Luka yet, she only sees her as a friend and support for now), we were waiting for this to show she still has feelings for her. We weren't sure if to make IA forever alone, or give her someone/thing to make her not so lonely…after a bit of thinking and talking, we had a pretty…strange consensus. XD It won't show now, this is just a heads up. ;)

Oh yeah, sorry about those few typos the last few chapters…we like typing in the dark (well, I know I do) so sometimes if we stare at the keyboard too much we forget where everything is, the computer screen is just…SO BRIGHT. We'd fix 'em but…too much work to do, ya know?

I'd like to give a shout out to _**Nuclear Eggs **_for giving me some ideas that we added into the storyline. If it weren't for you…I think we would've been sooo lost!

**Disclaimer: **Why would we be here if we owned Vocaloid? O.o Do you know how less interested we'd be in FF if we did? Yeah, we don't own it for crap.

* * *

_**StepMania**_

* * *

_**Chapter 4: Crushed **_

Yukari bit her lip, trying to shield herself from the stares and whispers she heard coming from the guys in the arcade; it made her uncomfortable and she knew something was coming when Ia hadn't spoken to her since they left their home. Not once was anything about this explained to her, she simply told her to get ready and they left.

"Don't worry," came the muffled and always soft voice from her sister, shoulders straight and confident. Ia wasn't a shy person even if her looks made her out to be, as she could be just about anything personality-wise to everyone around her; to Yukari, Ia was a soft spoken, gentle and caring person; to their parents she was responsible and polite, she could joke around and be loud with her friends. Basically, Ia was able to manipulate her emotions perfectly in any situation, and it made Yukari slightly envious. She was only a sensitive and dependant girl who always needed help.

Before long, they reached a game that was twice as surrounded by boys than usual on Sunday, but it didn't stop the two from pushing past everyone and standing in front of the game where four boys were slowly moving to a song. All but one were pretty big and their ankles nearly fit the entire arrow square. The girls simply stood there and watched them go through the slightly faced paced song with slowness, but they managed to stay in sync with their thinner friend and keep up. Yukari was thoroughly impressed, but glancing at her sister, she saw that Ia had a blank look on her face, a face that didn't make her feel anything but nervousness inside her. "Aria?" she asked, tugging on Ia's black sleeve, trying to get her attention.

The older of the two and more focused switched her gaze from the boys dancing to her shy sister, giving her a smile and a hand for comfort. "Just relax, Yukari. You'll understand in a bit," was all she said. Yukari bit her lip and nodded, clinging onto her even more. She didn't like being here since she knew Cul worked here and would be able to spot her miles away even if she tried avoiding her.

"Wow…talk about luck," a blonde said on Yukari's left, not even looking at those performing. Her blank golden eyes stared at her cell phone screen and her thumb tapped away a message. Her other hand was buried in her shorts' back pocket and playing with something, but the purple-haired girl couldn't figure out what. "They're nearly dying up there, but guy pride makes them keep going. Pretty gross if you ask me," she continued, eyes glancing upwards once to tell Yukari she was speaking to her.

"They might actually be good you know," a guy snapped at her, obviously showing he was their friend. Yukari drifted her attention back to the blonde and noticed she was back to texting, not even bothering to acknowledge what he had said, but her hand was gently tugged by Ia and she turned away from them.

Ia was now looking around the crowd of people, and put her free hand into the air, as if calling someone over. Her crystal blue eyes stayed as blank as ever, but Yukari could feel the heat coming off her palms and wondered just what her sister was up to. Opening her mouth to speak, she was cut off and extremely shocked when a redhead crushed her in a hug. _How did she find me? _

However, this redhead wasn't the one she had been fearing of meeting; she was almost shorter than Yukari and had an ahoge nearly stabbing her eye had it not been for Ia's light tug backwards. "You are so cute!" she yelled, face hidden and rubbing against Yukari's chest in an intimate -not to mention embarrassing- manner, and Ia could easily tell she wasn't used to being close to people aside from her family and Cul.

"You're Chibi-san, right?" the pale-haired girl asked quietly, making the cheery girl nod. Ia returned the gesture and looked at Yukari with a small smile, "She's going to be your partner, okay?"

The girl's eyes widened and she took a large intake of breath, cheeks red and puffed out in annoyance, "Why me? There's lots of other ways to find people who, you know…" Her eyes slid to the floor, ignoring the bouncing ahoge in her face. "This is embarrassing…"

"That's okay!" Chibi-san yelled, getting a few glares from others around them. She proudly hit her chest with a triumphant huff, and smiled bravely, "You'll be my dancing partner, and all you have to do is have fun! I'm Furukawa Miki, by the way."

Now confused, nervous and blushing, Yukari nodded, "I guess…fine. But…Aria, you're paying for whatever I want later." She gave Ia the fiercest glares she could muster, but it faded once her sister showed it didn't matter much to her. "Whatever," she whispered, snapping her eyes back to the game where four new people stepped up to play.

* * *

Luka was sure insistent, and stopped at nothing until she got what she was aiming for. The artist would constantly snap pictures of Miku while they window shopped, and whatever Miku had an eye out for, Luka would constantly try to buy it for her. While sweet, Miku couldn't tell when this mood change had occurred, like Luka was hyper. Maybe it was the overload of sugar dumped in her soda from the café, but it was starting to scare her a little bit. Now with Luka jumping through the crowds in a happy frenzy, the two could end up doing literally anything.

"Miku," the pinkette said, tugging on her hand. It wasn't the first time, but it was definitely different than the others, which had her being dragged behind Luka without question. Teal eyes looked up at her and Miku mentally sighed in relief, finally seeing some composure in Luka's face. "One thing!" she begged, stopping them in the middle of the sidewalk; their elders glared at their blocking the way and some kids stared at them in wonder. Her clear blue eyes gleamed and her mouth wavered a little, making Miku seriously uncomfortable. Not only were they now back where they started, but they were in a public place and in a position that looked more like people on a date: Luka slightly leaning forward while clasping their hands together.

"Luka-san…what's wrong?" Instead of answering her plea, Miku decided to take the easy way out and ask something out of the blue, hoping to catch Luka off guard and forget about their current situation. Truthfully she didn't know if something was really wrong, or Luka really was hyper, but it didn't hurt to try.

Luka shook her head with her eyebrows furrowed, "Nothing. Why?" Of course she wouldn't really know something was wrong with her actions until Miku pointed them out, but the tealette didn't really want to, seeing as Luka seemed to be having so much fun just walking with her. It made Miku happy that Luka was happy, and shook her head with a small toothy smile of reassurance.

The two moved on, and Miku was starting to get used to seeing this part of the city, but it was probably the only place she had been exposed to; she hoped with time they would venture out into other places in the city. "So, where to next?" she asked, pretending to look away and casually slipped their hands together again. Luka flinched at the gesture first, but smiled at Miku's boldness.

"I don't know…you arranged this date, so you should choose," the artist said with a sneaky glance. It wasn't good, but it indirectly told Miku that if she didn't choose soon, Luka would make them do something extremely embarrassing. So she looked around in a hurry and froze at the silent laughter Luka was letting escape. "Don't worry, we won't do anything you're uncomfortable with; I may have my evil side, but I'm not cruel or unjust."

Gulping from her previous fright and now embarrassed to the core, Miku sighed and stared at the floor again, not really wanting to do anything else, until Luka hauled her into a dark place. She wanted to scream and felt like she was being kidnapped until loud sounds and bells reached her ears. A few cheers coming from a distance made her look up and into a neon sign she recognized as the one from the night before. "Arcade?" she asked, turning her head to the pinkette, who simply nodded and dragged her in again.

This time there weren't many people crowding around the various games, only a select few played with their friends or by themselves while everyone else seemed to be making a concert of a performance.

"She's so hot!" a guy yelled to his friend, blushing a deep red. Sweat from the amount of bodies sliding against each other and trying to get a better look made his slightly chubby face shine. "I wanna make her mine!"

Luka's hand shuddered from a bit of disgust and worry, but Miku didn't know why. But, their hands kept themselves tight around each other to avoid getting lost. The people they pushed by stared at Miku and she clung closer to Luka who held onto her even more tightly. _What's happening? _

They finally reached the front of the crowd with a little difficulty, and they could feel the energy pouring off the dancers on the platform. While Luka nodded to herself, impressed, Miku stood there with her mouth hanging open. "Miki-chan?" she whispered to herself, thankful of the crowd cheering on the redhead. Said girl's ahoge was bouncing all over the place, showing Miki's excitement and energy she used to pound her feet against the flashing arrows.

Her partner was someone she hadn't met before and had never seen Miki hang out with, but her short purple hair was clinging to her neck despite the cool air breezing through every crack and space available. She had a black sweater with a long pink hood moving against her back and probably just adding more heat to her body. Her feet were stumbling slightly against the platform and the girl just looked plain awkward compared to Miki and the others she was around, but she was pretty good.

"Friend of yours?" Luka asked, nudging her shoulder with her forearm and getting her attention back to her. Nobody wanted to give them room and Miku's face flushed in embarrassment when the artist's body was literally invading her personal space, but didn't find it unnerving as much as she thought. Luka looked a little too happy for this, but she quickly stepped back, acting like the tealette's body had set her on fire. "Sorry," she said, a small blush on her cheeks.

The two looked away and Miku rubbed her bare arm, hoping the awkwardness would disappear, "It's…okay, I guess. Not your fault!" She took a deep breath to rid of the sand bottle wedged in her voice box, "Yeah, well…you could say we're friends, but only on the internet. We go to school together, but…like Gumi-san." Her hands found each other again, a habit she was determined to get rid of, but thinking about her not-really friend made her a bit sad.

"Well, you'll just have to go up there and play now, won't you?" the pinkette suggested, pulling them even more close. Here they could see the sweat falling off the girls to their right, Miki bouncing around in a happy stupor and her partner trying as best she could to get the timing right. "The song's ending…I'll go with you," Luka said, gently taking Miku's hand in hers again.

The fear Miku had inside her settled a little knowing she wouldn't be going all by herself and she scooted closer to Luka, feeling a sense of comfort radiating off the tall woman. "Just don't quit, okay?"

"Miku-san?" a voice yelled over the music, hurriedly pushing their arms through the crowd and separated the people in front of them in two groups, a green head of hair escaping its hideout. A panting Gumi looked up and her eyes gleamed in happiness, jumping in the air to grab onto Luka's other arm. "Luka-san, too? Out on a date?" she said excitedly, eyes nearly bloodshot and the rest of her body shaking. Luka wondered if the girl was on any sort of pill.

Miku shook her head in a frenzy, denying the statement in a second, "No! We're just hanging out today!" Her arms crossed and she turned her head away, single tail of hair smacking Gumi's hand a little. _Seriously…why does everyone think that? _

Silence ensued a moment later, and her teal eyes looked up to meet ruby ones, Miki leaning dangerously over the railing to look at her. "Miku-chan?" she asked, turning her eyes to Gumi who waved, hidden behind Luka's shoulder. She only could tell it was Gumi from the strands of green hair poking out in the air. "Gumi-chan, and…" Her eyes moved upwards to meet aquamarine ones, a refreshing blue compared to her red ones. "The pedo-san?"

Immediately Luka burst out in a flurry of coughs, a statement getting caught in her throat the minute she was claimed to be a pedophile, "I'm not…" she weakly protested, heat piling up inside her; sure she liked girls younger than she was, but she would never go after _high school students_, she was almost a college grad for Heaven's sake! The small affection she had for Miku didn't count either, she didn't want to take advantage of the girl.

Miki didn't seem convinced and returned her attention back to an almost illiterate Miku, face flushed and a mix between blushing and pale. Her ahoge jumped a little, and she smiled, liking the adorable way the tealette acted. "So…up for some dancing?" she asked sweetly, resting her chin in her palms; lots of guys swooned and took pictures of her, but her eyes were focused only on the three in front of her, even if one of them wasn't really trusted by her.

"Of course we are!" Gumi yelled, her face still having an intimate moment with Luka's white shirt. "Come on, Miku." Her voice died down a little and she could feel a few eyes on her, increasing her kiss with the silk tee.

Miku didn't know what to do, but with their hands still joined together, Luka squeezed a little, smiling at the redhead above them. "O…okay…" she said with a nod, blushing as the two walked closer. Gumi clung to Luka until they got to the steps, and let go in a flash.

"I can't," she whispered in Miku's ear, her eyes drifting to the other side of their game, "Not with that girl watching us like a hawk!"

Teal eyes discretely took a look around to see who Gumi was talking about, and spotted a semi-glaring Ia, her arms crossed and looking a bit too serious to be in an arcade. Her blue eyes moved from Miku to Miki, Gumi to Luka and stayed for a few seconds on Miki's partner, eyes softening at the sight of the purple-haired girl looking like she was about to die, before going back to their cold state. _Freaky. Must be that girl's…girlfriend. _

Miki pulled Miku up and giggled at the small yelp, "Oh come on, we won't bite!" To emphasize, she turned back to her partner and muttered a few words, before the girl walked up with a flushed face. "This is Yuzuki Yukari-chan," she introduced, playing with the hem of her jean vest. Her moderate sized chest looked bigger than ever underneath a tight white tank top, and Miku needed a small shove in the leg from Gumi to remember where they were. _I can't believe I just ogled Miki-chan's chest in public! I'm so dead! _

Yukari stepped even closer to her and bowed a little to get their attention, "H-Hello…I'm looking forward to playing with you two.." Her voice was soothing and her eyes a matching amethyst, making Miku's heart beat a little faster. She was definitely cuter now that they got a look at her face.

"Uh…y-yeah! Haha…I'm Hatsune Ni-Mu…Miku! Hatsune Miku. Nice to meet you, Yuzuki-san!" her voice was now panicked a little and Miku didn't know what to do now that her blabbering would go on if something didn't interfere. Luckily Luka did, sensing her discomfort.

"I'm Megurine Luka, one of Miku's friends. It's nice meeting you two." Miku wondered if all artists were calm and as composed as Luka was, and she found herself smiling at floor, shuffling her feet.

Miki looked even more suspicious than she thought she would be, but then remembered about Ia in the background, making room for the two girls to see her. "That's Yukari-chan's sister, Ia-san. She's not as mean as she looks, Yukari-chan is just a bit of a ditz, so she'll probably get hurt a bit while playing."

"That explains her awkward skills then," Luka commented in a distant tone, not really noticing the others around her had heard what she said. Her eyes drifted upwards and she jumped at Yukari's small frown, instant regret hitting her, "Ah…sorry, Yukari-san," she awkwardly laughed, scratching the back of her head.

The four nodded at each other after a second and Miki gave out enough tokens for everyone. Gumi excused herself and stepped back, walking through the crowd to meet Ia. Both their eyes met and Gumi could feel a sliver of fear hitting her back.

"Hi there. Yuzuki Ia-san?" she asked, trying to start the conversation; the pale pinkette didn't look like much of a talker either, which was a bit of a plus for her.

Ia shrugged, her arms still crossed in a stiff manner. She didn't look too relaxed, but Gumi figured it was due to Yukari's clumsiness. "I suppose, that's not what my actual name is though," she said softly with a hint of interest. Usually nobody approached her from the way she looked when standing alone, leaving her to herself. The fact Gumi actually wanted to talk made her happy inside.

"Not your name?" Gumi echoed, scratching her temple in confusion, "What is it?" Gumi never really knew something as weird as that, but she also had her own fair share of secrets and felt like she was being nosy. Ia just smiled at her and shrugged again, arms now still at her sides.

"There wouldn't be a purpose if you knew it," she replied, going back to watching her sister play. It was a bit amusing to see their conversation before starting, the group before didn't even have them introduce themselves and just started. Ia guessed they were already friends before and wanted to have small talk.

Gumi stood a bit awkwardly, shuffling her feet a little with her eyes moving back and forth from certain people to the four going through the songs. The air suddenly felt much more awkward, but she shook her head, trying to clear her mind off everything and focus on her friends.

Luka held in her breath again, seeing that same slowness from last time coming up, but this time she knew she was ready. She glanced to her left and saw Miku doing the same, but less occupied with the others. _I wonder what she thinks about when doing this…_

The moment her thought ended, the artist was still occupied with her thoughts she was the only one to miss the fast notes, and jumped in frustration, "Crap!" She heard a faint giggle coming from the right and blushed at hearing Miki laugh at her. Knowing the competition was now laughing at her actions, Luka could feel a small ripple in her body, telling her to pick up the pace.

Before one foot could step on an arrow, her vision was obscured by teal hair, nearly smacking her eyes had it not been for her stepping backwards a bit. Miku was completely unaware of this fact and kept going, being her own team and almost not needing Luka at all, but it made the artist a little happy knowing the shy girl was in her own little world and unafraid of showing that she was.

"She's…good," Yukari breathed, feeling fatigue well up in her stomach, redness hitting her cheeks with each move. Lights danced off her sweaty face and made her even more hot than she was, but she wasn't about to give up. To the side she saw Ia with a small bewildered expression followed by a hidden smirk, and Yukari was suddenly curious of Miku, wondering if she was the person they were looking for.

"So, how did you and Miku-chan meet?" Miki casually asked Luka, turning her head away from the small screen for a moment to glance at the pinkette. Her bangs were tucked behind her left ear to prevent them from sticking to her face, which was gleaming with sweat as Yukari was. Her moves were quick and almost on par with Miku's, but something was preventing them from being the same, Luka just didn't know what.

Luka made sure to remember the pattern, and switched her position so now she was facing the audience, her eyes still on the redhead next to her. The girl looked impressed and gave a small thumbs up before returning her gaze to the screen, "We met Friday afternoon, in a park on Miku's way back from school. She fell on the sidewalk and I ended up laughing at her; next thing we knew, we just started talking."

"_'Talking'_ as in…? So you two are dating?" The information didn't seem to faze Miki one bit; she was more open minded than one would think and didn't find it strange to hear about two women dating. What bothered her a little was the fact that _Hatsune Miku _managed to land someone older, and gorgeous without any mention.

The artist shook her head a little, wanting to act nonchalant as much as she could, but knowing it'd hurt Miku more than she already had that day, "Nope. We just met, no dating going on whatsoever," she said casually, quickly moving her legs to match the tempo with the song. Her breathing was a little ragged but from years of cardio workouts it wasn't a big deal. "Do we look like we're dating or something?"

Miki shrugged, trying to play it cool, "I guess? Either way, it's weird Miku's suddenly having all these friends outside the internet, but I admit it's good for her." Her red eyes scanned the screen for a second before giving a spin and grin to the awed audience then moving back to her original position. Light red hair brushed against her lower back, moving wildly and out of sync with her moves while the tall ahoge on her head was jamming out to the rhythm.

"It's not that bad having friends," Luka defended with a small, inaudible huff. She disliked having Miku be called anything negative, _weird_ being one of them. It certainly wasn't weird for someone to develop social skills, Miku was deprived of so much already and it wasn't fair to keep her in the dark of anything else. She nearly slipped on the arrows but managed to use the slide to her advantage and use her hands to pick herself up, "I do agree it's good for her though."

Yukari was silently listening in on the conversation, and had enough evidence of the tealette to know she was just what Ia had been looking for; although it slightly hurt her to know they were simply using the girl for Yukari's own personal gain. _I should…try to be her friend. I mean…it's not like she'll agree immediately or anything. _

Miku was wondering why everyone else's lives were so much lower than when they began, and kept her movements steady but still quick and smooth while looking to the side. Her peripheral vision helped keep the screen in her range, but seeing Luka, Miki and Yukari cooped up in their own thoughts, she frowned. Luckily the song was coming to its conclusion, so she let her hits become slower again, holding some out and occasionally adding in combos with a spin at the final strike.

Not even bothering to check her score, she turned to Luka with a timid expression, "Luka-san…? This isn't boring you guys, is it…?" her eyes slid downwards and her fingers toyed with each other, showing her genuine nervousness. Now the crowd was staring at her, and she could feel the emotions coming off them in harsh waves.

"Of course not!" Miki answered for her, standing between the tall artist and herself. Sweat slid down her neck, but she wasn't breathing heavily or anything, much to Miku's surprise. Suddenly the close proximity of the girl drove her off the edge, and she exploded into a fit of mangled and distorted sentences, all inaudible but not understandable either. "Miku-chan~?"

Teal eyes drifted downward again, trying very hard not to stick to the redhead's chest, and she found the floor which made her a little less nervous; the floor wouldn't give her strange looks, that's for sure. Her mouth shut tightly and she regretted even opening it in the first place. However, Miki noticed her internal battle and lightly patted her head, smiling brightly at Miku to cheer her up. "C'mon, let's do something together! I know a great place we can all hang out, just the…" She spun around in a circle, her petite hand counting how many of them there were. "Six of us!"

Ia walked closer fast enough to hear what the redhead was saying, and glared at Miki's back for a second before going back to her blank state. "Where are we going?" she asked, poking her head out from behind Gumi, scaring everyone but the green-haired girl.

Holding a hand to her chest and still in shock, Miki coughed into her hand, "Karaoke?" The question hung in the air, implying she really didn't have an idea of where they would go, and Miku shook her head.

"No way…that's too, um…" The tip of her shoe tapped against the platform, finally realizing people were going to kill them if they didn't get off soon. Tugging at the hem of Luka's shirt, she pointed behind them, shaking a little from having the most attention of them all. It was expected, as she was the best of them, but she didn't like bragging or being the center of attention.

Luka understood and led them off their small stage, ignoring the glares from the new players. Her eyes went back to Miku and she nodded at herself, "So, karaoke is a no…what about the movies?" Secretly it wasn't too serious of a suggestion, but Miku and Gumi lightened at it, almost glowing in comparison to the others. Well, Ia still basically stood there like a statue, but Luka could tell she was okay with it.

"Okay, cool. It's a bit of a walk, so why don't we just call a taxi?" Miki asked, using her finger to scroll through her phone. It brightened up her eyes and Gumi tilted her head a little at the change in her eye color from the bright light, but chose not to comment on it.

The girls made their way through the crowds and stretched when they finally got outside, Miku a little more happier than earlier. Maybe because the only theatre near them was pretty far, which also meant she could see the rest of the city.

* * *

Waiting for the taxi was hell enough, every single one just passing by or stopping but not letting them in from the capacity. Luka checked her watch for the fifth time, tapping her foot in impatience, "If we walked we could've been there by now…" she grumbled, crossing her arms.

Miki shrugged but realized the older woman couldn't see her, "I guess, but…it's just way too hot! I'd hate to get there and be all sweaty." She straightened her black cargo pants and sat down on the sidewalk, resting her elbows on her knees with a pout. "Pedo-san, you have an ID don't you?"

Luka wanted to scoff at her new pet name, but shrugged it off so she wasn't rude, "Yes, but not with me. I usually just walk to the places I go to, so I don't really need a car…" A small blush stained her cheeks at the incredulous looks on the teenagers' faces, and she looked away to avoid them.

"Don't you drink though? I-I mean…you need one to buy alcohol…right?" Yukari asked, suddenly curious about the pink-haired woman. Luka had told them nothing about her aside from being Miku's friend, and since she was older than them, it also raised her curiosity.

Shrugging with a sigh and brushing her hand through her bangs, Luka looked out to the street, where cars passed by -none being a taxi- and friends ran around each other, as well as couples and families. "A friend of mine buys them, so other than when using a credit card or getting gas I never need it."

Miku was interested, but felt like the conversation was getting a bit too personal for Luka's comfort, so she decided to step closer to them and point out an incoming car, silently laughing at Gumi and Miki's preparation.

A moment before their target passed, the two of them jumped into the street, getting a shriek from Yukari and Luka stepping forward in case something happened, but a long honk later, they got the driver to stop right in front of them.

While lining up to get in, Ia snuck around Gumi and opened the front seat's door, content she wasn't going to be crushed in the group of girls behind her. Miki, who trailed in first, was pressed against the left window, her breathing making a small fog oval appear on the glass; Yukari sat next to her with her body smashed in between Miki and Gumi, her head tilted to the side and resting sideways on Miki's shoulders, both legs held up and supported by Luka's long ones; Gumi was blushing, since being in the middle meant she had to sit on someone's lap, and it was an equally blushing Miku, who's head was hidden behind her back but also pressed up against Luka's shoulder. Said woman was in a similar position to Miki, but instead of letting her face kiss the window, she leaned against the door, letting her long legs lay across the carpeted floor, almost like a foot stool for everyone.

"Everyone...settled in?" the taxi man asked, sweat dropping at the sight, and inwardly wishing he had a camera. Not one girl aside from the silent Ia looked comfortable, and rings of murmurs got his attention before he drove off to the destination Ia gave him while everyone was getting in.

Miku wished she was next to the window, but even a small glimpse of the moving city was good enough for her even if Gumi moving her position to let the man see got in the middle of it. She'd heard about movie theatres before, but always refused to go with her family when they went, choosing to either order the movie's DVD later on or watch it online. Now, being in a car full of friends and especially Luka, Miku felt a fuzzy feeling in her stomach that made her happy, but at the same time confused.

"So what movie are we going to see, Miki-chan?" Gumi asked, her voice cracking from trying to act casual. The feel of sitting on someone's lap, someone she had just met at that, made her feel uptight and nervous. But if she thought about the movie she knew she would eventually forget it. "N-nothing scary…I know people normally don't go to actually watch them…"

Miku shuddered at the thought, and tried moving her head to see Miki but the tight space was limited and she could only see a small part of her hair. "What's out, anyway?" she asked, her voice a little muffled from Gumi's back being pressed into her face after a bump in the road. Not having a TV in her room and hardly touching the one in the living room, Miku was never really interested in knowing what was new or popular as she never went out anyway. But now, she was just as confused about it as she was about everything coming to her.

"Uhm…there was a comedy, but you have to be eighteen to see it," Yukari said, shaking her feet a bit to wake them up. The lack of air was slightly getting to her, and she knew any moment now she'd either throw up or start thrashing about; it was a secret that she had a bad case of claustrophobia, and not even Ia knew about it, but now after feeling her stomach ache followed by a faint queasiness, she regretted not telling her. Yukari shuffled her feet together, slamming them into each other to get her mind on something else, but the sick feeling was rising and sweat started glistening her dry forehead, her breathing becoming short and fast.

Miki raised an eyebrow at her behavior, and could see the paleness in the purple-haired girl's face. She didn't know what to do, but by pressing her face into the window and seeing the theatre close by, she pushed off the glass and stared at their driver, "Stop the car," she demanded seriously, all traces of her playful self gone. "I think Yukari-chan's going to throw up."

Luckily she calculated the area right, and they were close to a sidewalk attached to open grass and a few trees that covered the freshly watered green plant.

Immediately the car stopped, and without a second to spare, Miki threw open the door and allowed Yukari to jump out, holding her mouth closed with her hands, trying to keep her breakfast in. "Go ahead," Miki said, pushing her back closer to the open grass in front of them. She turned around and giggled a little at the sight of the other three stretching themselves while Ia paid the driver before letting him leave. The sounds coming from behind her were now imbedded into her mind but she tried to not show it and just smiled at the others. It hadn't even occurred to them that they were in seeing eye distance and a small handful of people were watching Yukari spill her guts over the grass that was now soiled.

Gumi reached into her bag and handed Yukari a water bottle, not wanting the girl to deal with the taste of bile and acid in her throat. "No snacks for you!" she joked, nudging her to the side with her shoulder, trying to lighten the mood before Ia gently pulled Yukari closer to her

They slowly walked near the theatre, with Luka and Miku leading the way followed by Ia trying to soothe her pale sister, and Miki and Gumi last, conversing with each other.

"I heard about that! But I came a bit too late last night, so I guessed I missed you in action," Miki said in awe. Gumi didn't look like the type to be good at shooting, rather more at strategic things, but it was just one of the many things she knew nothing of her.

With a blush and nonchalant shrug, Gumi laughed a little, "All I pretty much did was run around, get on the floor and shoot people. I'm surprised nobody saw me; my hair was _so_ bright!" To emphasize, she shot her arms out into the air, looking up into the sky with wide green eyes. Miki giggled at her actions, imagining just how bright her hair would be in the dark.

_Well, we'll be in the dark soon…._

This area was more or less the same as the one near the arcade, but with apartments and some houses littered here and there, as well as a closed Pachinko parlor and casinos they ignored completely. In the middle of it all stood a newly built and tall cinema.

It's sign was huge, lettering going down it and showing it would look gorgeous at night, as well as a purple dome shaped roof with lighting on the edges. Other than the entrance being a half-moon, the rest of the theatre was windowless and a square brick building. Glass doors where loads of people were walking through caught Miku's attention, but when Luka took her shoulders to turn her another way, her mouth fell to the floor.

The ground they stood on suddenly turned fancy, all kinds of patterns sending Miku into a trance, before something wet hit her face, a hand holding her back. Wondering why she was stopped, her teal eyes moved upwards and faced water shooting into the air from circles on the ground. They ranged from ones that occasionally popped out, to one that were on all the time, but Miku loved the dancing water, almost believing this was the movie they were going to see.

"Miku," Luka said, waving her hand in her face, "Are you okay?" Leaning forward to stare into younger teal eyes, Luka tilted her head in confusion. She didn't notice the blush on the girl's face, but saw that she was out of her trance and took her hand again. "Everyone's waiting," she said softly, pulling her I the direction the other three were.

Suddenly Miku realized she was back with them and shuffled her feet in embarrassment; that, and because Luka wouldn't let go of her hand again. She really didn't like some of the looks they were getting, especially since she didn't have any romantic feelings for the artist at all.

Gumi looked through the red titles on the screens above them, pointing at a random one suitable for them all rating-wise, but it changed as everyone looked up as well. Miki nodded in excitement and dragged her to the ticket booth, ignoring her frantic shuddering. Their exchange was quick and in a flash, Miki held up the tickets while Gumi looked just as sick as Yukari did.

"So, what movie is it?" Luka curiously asked, trying to see the name.

Miki laughed with one hand covering her mouth, showing the first to Ia who sighed. "We're watching…something called _Bloodmouth_."

_Wait what? _was the only thought running through everyone's heads at that moment.

* * *

_**A/N: **_

Once again, sorry for making you guys wait this long. Something was bugging my partner in crime, and she pretty much lost motivation to write anything; however, after a few exercises and hanging out to help her, she was back on her feet. (:

We'll try to get the next chapter out sooner than this one, but because life DOES get in the way and we do have real life stuff to take care of, there really shouldn't be anymore promises…sorry again, but hey, as long as the chapters are out right? Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and stay tuned for the fifth! To be honest, since our Internet connection was being a real meanie to us (we wanted to see what would sound cool), we came up with a fake name for the movie they're about to watch, so if there is a real movie out there...well, we don't own it.

Later. ;3


	5. Composure

_**A/N: **_

Uhh…well, sorry- no, not sorry…umm…here's chapter 5? Since school is super close and a small portion of the group is in college now (sniffle) our updates will be taking a huge turn for the worse. At the most, after the 27th, we'll update probably…every two weeks? It's not that bad, but still, education first! We'll get out as much as we can, although the two of us doubt it'll be more than two chapters.

Starting next chapter we'll delve more into the romance part; a huge project is sitting in the back right now, and all of our attention has been put on it. Our profile has been updated, in the new Vocaloid section of our stories…the one with the huge summary.

But, while we work on chapter 6 and the beginning of that, enjoy this one. :D Oh yeah, their movie experience will be based off ours. It wasn't too bad, but the employees that worked those hours were pretty nasty towards us. ):

Oh yeah…and despite us all being hardcore yuri fans….we've totally fallen in love with Kaito/Miki….blame the song Insanity. We've also noticed this chapter is shorter than the other chapters...we're so sorry... D:

**Disclaimer: **We own nothing, we don't even know if Bloodmouth or Immortal Paradise are real movies; if they are, we don't own them, not one bit. Copyright and stuff…we wished we owned this stuff, but alas, we don't, so anything resembling real life things are purely coincidental and belong to their original owners. We do own the content of our fake movie...just wanted to make us feel a bit more special. ;~;

* * *

_**StepMania**_

* * *

_**Chapter 5: Composure**_

Miku wasn't knowledgeable about a lot of things, like socializing, or knowing the places to eat in the city, or even how where she lived looked. But one thing she knew was what a movie theater was, what people did there, and how fun it could be; she did always fantasize about going to one someday.

"S-so…you chose a horror?" Yukari warily asked, stepping away from the handful of tickets like they were a disease. Ia simply stared at them with a blank look on her face, eyes gleaming in delight in an almost scary manner, Yukari wondered just what kinds of fetishes her sister had.

Luka and Miki had to literally drag their two awkward, gawking and stiff friends through the glass doors and into the air conditioned lobby, security poles lining up to a man standing with his arms crossed and an unpleasant look on his face. No doubt he'd probably give them a hard time, but only Miku and Gumi were scared out of their minds.

"Tickets," he said, opening his palm out on front of the leading redhead with a hard stare, almost as if doubting she had bought anything. With a smug look on her face, she slapped the six tickets into his hand and huffed. He scanned them for a moment before ripping them in half, keeping the others and shoving the rest in Miki's face. "Your movie is in theater twenty to the left," he mumbled without even a flicker of emotions, going back to his silent pose.

Miku looked around again, this time finding the lobby bigger than she thought. Right in front of them when they walked around the ticket guy, was a huge moon shaped area for snacks they'd need during the movie. Three isles were showing different kinds of popcorn, all rotated around by employees' hands to keep them fresh, all kinds of soda and slushie machines standing near the register. Candy sat in plastic squares where they could fill white paper bags with and prepackages ones sat on top, ready to take.

There were stairs on both sides of the lobby, heading toward and elevator that was most likely only for the staff. In one corner, a black room was colorful and made Miku wonder what was in it, but Miki grabbed her arm and dragged her closer to the others who were already browsing all the snacks.

"Even nachos, huh?" Gumi murmured into her finger, green eyes bouncing from one thing to another. They landed on a glass rectangle with rotating churros and she instantly felt her already open mouth start to water. With a frown, Gumi reached into her pocket and it lit up at the sight of the twenty she found the night before. Her hand opened up the glass door and pulled out one, warm and smelling amazing to her. Miki leaned in to grab one as well, and pretended to not see the light blush on the green-haired girl's cheeks.

Luka settled with a bottle of water and a decent sized popcorn, urging Miku with her foot to get something, "It's fine, you can get whatever you want." All six of them ignored the other group of teenagers behind them in line with impatient glares on their faces, some tapping their feet and checking their phones for the time. Miku looked like a lost puppy, eyes going from one thing to another with no clue what to do.

A loud gulp escaped her throat, eyes set on the employee in front of the popcorn, and she felt her insides burn and her stomach dropping from invisible G-forces. "Uhm…I think I'll just get something to drink," she whispered, looking to the side in case the others could hear her. Usually when someone didn't know what to decide, Miku saw on TV that others would insult them in one way or another.

"We'll share then," Luka smiled, a smile that made it clear that was final. Miku nodded ferociously. However, she pushed Miku forward in front of the boxes of candy, indirectly telling her to get at least one. "You don't have to ask to get candy, so get whichever makes you feel happy," she said.

Behind them, Ia placed two bottles of water and a small popcorn on the counter, her hand diving into her shirt pocket to take out money. The guy at the register, after tapping in the amount, decided to ignore the sick-looking Yukari and gave a charming smile to her platinum-haired sister, "So…you have a boyfriend?" he asked, reaching out to take her bills. His brown hair covered his eyes for a moment so he couldn't see the girl roll her eyes a bit, looking around to come up with something.

She shook her head, gathering their things in her arms, "No." It was all she said, ignoring his opening mouth to smile at Yukari softly, "I have _her_." With her free hand she grabbed a pale and shocked Yukari, dragging her towards the theatre hall. Granted she wasn't looking directly at the girl, rather a movie promo poster, but it still looked believable. Ia felt the urge to burst out laughing, but held it in for the sake of her sister.

"Wh-why did you say that?" her sister weakly asked, frantically looking around in case people heard them, "We're not like that…!"

Clear blue eyes bore into Yukari's amethyst ones, and Ia gave a toothy grin for a second before turning back into her blank self, "I wanted to leave a lasting impression. Cul-san is special to you after all, you shouldn't take it so seriously." She honestly didn't expect Yukari to freak over it, rather laugh it off and let it die, but it piqued her interest a bit.

Before long, the others -Gumi and Miki holding a pile of things- joined them. Luka looked up, seeing the large menu showing where movies were showing, "The guy said it was to the left…"

The six migrated down the hall, passing by cutouts of new movies coming soon, the restrooms Miki made sure to remember, and leading up to one that had the name of their movie in red on an electronic sign. Miku gulped, clutching her candy closer to her chest, and glanced to the side to see how Luka looked; the artist was scanning the area, as if looking for something, and jerked backwards at the sight of an old employee suspiciously looking at them, moving from the wall he was leaning on.

"Hurry," she said, pushing Ia's back closer to the door. The younger girl looked to the side without moving her head and understood, opening the door for them before he could kick them out; the movie did sound pretty R rated, and no doubt did it look like they were sneaking in.

They managed to help Miki and Gumi bring their things in, entering the dim room with almost bursting hearts. "Let's see how many people are here…" Miki whispered, sneaking closer to the seats. It felt like forever with her walking, but she managed to hide well enough to pop her head to give a good glance.

It wasn't too bad, only a few rows filled up, the back occupied fully, and the middle having people all over the place. There was luckily enough space for all of them to fit in one row, and the redhead gave them a signal to come out.

Since the front had no space, and the back had none either, they chose a row right in the middle, at about the twelfth step upwards. Some people they had to scoot around, but eventually Miki stopped and dropped herself in the seat, followed by Gumi, Ia, Luka, Yukari and Miku. The movie wasn't starting for another fifteen minutes, Gumi noticed from looking at her phone and ticket, so she decided to organize all her things, most of them on the slightly sticky floor.

Lights above them aside from a few gave off a pretty bright orange glow, letting everyone still see, and the seats were separated by color, a dark and light green; Gumi leaned back and was shocked to feel the seat move with her, making a comfy position. The walls were red with all sorts of patters in yellow, looking like a piece of Indian clothing, and there were bright green exit signs on either side, where slightly more people were walking through.

"Pretty exciting, isn't it?" Miki asked, throwing in a cherry flavored Jolly Rancher in her mouth. It was pretty adorable how she and Miku were reacting to everything so far, she really couldn't believe neither hadn't been to a theatre before. "I saw the picture before we walked in, just barely, but it doesn't look too bad," she said with a wink. Gumi didn't know if the wink meant she was joking, or if she was just trying to be friendly, but it made her gulp inaudibly. Of course, Miki didn't tell her it was really a comedy, she loved her expressions too much.

Nodding to attempt a conversation before it turned into awkward silence, Gumi looked at her dark-screened phone, pressing the middle button to check if it was on silent. "Well…as long as it's a…movie, I guess it's fine," she whispered, looking around for a second before settling her feet on the empty chair in front of her.

"We can movie-hop after this one if you want," Ia, voice even quieter than Gumi's whisper, said while turning her own phone off. Blue eyes looked at the green-haired girl silently, and glinted a bit at seeing Gumi smile a little. It surprised her such a shy girl like her would like doing something…well, illegal.

Yukari leaned forward in her seat with a frown on her face, displeased at her sister's suggestion, "We are not doing that. Do you know how tight the security is here?"

"No, but I do know that most of us are quiet enough to not make ourselves get caught," her almost-emotionless sister nonchalantly replied with a shrug. Luka had no idea such a shy looking girl could be this casual about anything, but found it to be a pretty good thing.

Miku gulped, fiddling with her candy, twirling it in different directions and somewhat enjoying the sound of the sweets crashing into a corner. She failed to notice her face turn into one of happiness, until she felt eyes one her; it was like a sixth sense, and she could always feel when someone was watching her. Sighing a little, she settled her candy down onto her lap again, and turned around, moving her head from side to side to see who it was that was looking at her. Finding nobody and deeming it unimportant, she turned back to see a curious stare from Yukari. "I-I'm fine! Just looking around…is all," she awkwardly tried to explain, leaning her head into her palm and slouching sideways.

* * *

"You're one evil little girl, you know that?" a hidden male said with black glasses on his face. Though they did nothing right now to hide the color because of all the lighting, they certainly would once the lights completely went out. His hands were currently making out with the sticky ground, still a little wet from something others spilt in the last showing, and he was glad he brought napkins with him. "What's got you so obsessed with this girl anyway, Rin-chan?" To add the effect of hiding, he wore a short sleeved tight black shirt and dark blue jeans; Rin even considered dying his hair black, but he stopped her at the mention of it.

The two were more higher up than the others were, and luckily Rin hadn't been caught. None of the girls they were talking to knew Kaito personally, so he had really nothing to hide from, but he respected what Rin wanted, whatever it was, so he would do whatever made her happy.

Rin peered over the empty seat in front of her, almost completely able to stand up from her height, and turned to the boy next to her. "I'm not obsessed! This, Kaito-kun…is what I'd like to call _information gathering_. I do have a blog you know." As if saying this information made her high and mighty, Rin crossed her arms and sat back into the plushy seat. Like Kaito, she also made sure to bring napkins, since she could see slight candy stains on her stockings. Her outfit was equal to Kaito's: black overalls that were also shorts over a grey t-shirt and black socks. Although her hair was a little more than noticeable, she didn't pay it too much attention.

With a shrug the blue-haired boy sighed and sat back as well, eyeing the six girls. He gave a low whistle only audible to himself, "That redhead is pretty cute. I see her at school a lot….man, I would kill to sit next to her right now…"

"Furukawa Miki?" Rin asked, intrigued a little. If Kaito knew her at least somewhat, she would get closer to the answer she wanted, so she nudged his shoulder, "Go talk to her."

A furious fire roared across his face, making it burn in embarrassment, and Kaito waved his hands in front of his face, "N-no way!" He cringed at the raised eyebrow made by the blonde wearing no-lenses glasses. "She's…way out of my league…"

"Oh, stop being a baby; if you want to go out with her, you have to get some of this," Rin explained, pointing at his abdomen, "Guts. I bet she'll even let you sit next to her! Hurry, I think that guy is going to make a move on her…"

Royal blue eyes stabbed a random guy across the theatre room and he jumped up, taking his snacks with him. A few steps down, he waved at Rin and she gave a small wave back before he hurried over to the girls, near the left end where Miki was.

The redhead was chatting with Gumi -well, Gumi was for the most part simply listening, and giving a little bit of a comment- when a red-faced Kaito appeared in their vision, giving Miki a questioning stare, in which she shook her head. She turned back to Gumi after he sat himself next to her, looking like she was going to continue their conversation, but she simply smiled. "He's kinda cute, don't you think?" she whispered extremely quietly in case he could hear.

Gumi blushed, and looked down at their shared bag of popcorn, already halfway gone from the wait. Green eyes looked to the side in mock secrecy, but she jumped when she met with blue ones. "Not really…he keeps…staring," she said back, burying half her face behind her hair. Gumi was almost positive she wasn't the reason he was staring, but it was still unnerving to feel his eyes on them.

"You know him?" Miki whispered again, this time scrutinizing her expressions with suspicion. She meant it as a sort of joke, but her red eyes caught a bit of sweat peppering her forehead. Miki could feel her chest swell up a little, so she took in a large breath and sighed, rubbing the other girl's shoulder, "I was kidding. I don't think I know him that much either."

Kaito mentally slapped himself, dropping his head like a disobedient puppy. _Of course she wouldn't…_

"Miku-san?" Yukari asked, turning her head from the black screen to the quiet girl next to her. The two didn't really have a chance to talk, and Yukari found her to be a little mysterious.

The tealette was surprised and a little intimidated by Yukari taking the initiative of the conversation, but found herself smiling at her lap. "Yeah…?" she quietly asked, wondering what question the purple-haired girl had to ask; she wasn't the most interesting person in the world after all.

Said girl gulped inaudibly, but clenched her jacket from inside the pockets, suddenly thankful for the water next to her. "I was wondering…are you…" Yukari leaned closer to her to avoid Luka's ears, even if the older woman wasn't being nosy to any conversation going on. "Dating-"

"No," she straightforwardly replied in a stern voice she didn't know she had. Miku was surprised so much she even gasped at herself, completely opposite of how she just sounded. "U-um…what I meant to say…was, no. We're not dating…I don't think I'd like her like that," she continued with more stares to the ground.

_That's a pretty suspicious reaction though…_Yukari thought, a look of understanding on her face. "Okay, just wondering…I guess?" she questioned herself, rubbing the back of her neck that was rapidly heating up.

"S-so!" Miku shouted, almost heard by everyone in the theatre. She covered her face with her hands, and brought her knees up to her chest to hide it, the tips of her ears a bright red. Despite her embarrassment, she turned her head enough so Yukari could see her, "How…do you feel? You don't still feel sick…do you?"

It impressed Yukari that Miku was so bold to try to ignore the embarrassment and continue talking, and shook her head, "I'm fine, now, thanks." She gave her a small smile and giggled at seeing the incredulous look on the tealette's face, wondering why she was so appalled. "Are _you_ okay though?"

It took a short moment, but Miku snapped back into reality, brining her teal eyes to look at a concerned looking Yukari. "Eh…? Oh! Uh, yeah…I just thought I saw someone I knew…" she said, bringing her head back to a normal level. Her eyes still wandered a bit, and Yukari was tempted to ask her about it, but the lights had finally dimmed.

Gumi eagerly clenched her soft drink tighter, a small wave of nervousness crashing into her stomach. There was still nobody sitting in front of her, so she kept her feet propped up on it for comfort. She really didn't expect there to be previews of anything, so kept the temptation to eat anything on a normal level so it wasn't all gone before the actual movie started.

"Uhm," Kaito murmured, trying to top the noise coming from the _First Look _previews. Miki looked a little more than interested in them, so he felt he was bothering her until she turned her head toward him. Suddenly feeling like a puddle of jelly Kaito coughed into his palm, "You…you're F-Furukawa Mi-Miki, right?"

As if not understanding his language, Miki completely turned to him, her ahoge forming into a question mark over her head. "Yeah…why? Are you a stalker?" she asked, scrunching up her nose and peering into his face. Kaito backed away a little, not really expecting this to be her reaction, and shook his head despite what he and Rin had been doing just minutes before.

"N-no…I just, I've seen you…at school before, but never really had a chance to talk to you…" he answered in the calmest way he could without making his blush noticeable. However, his throat clogged up at the sight of the small blush appearing on Miki's face, feeling his heart beat ten times faster than normal.

Miki didn't quite understand what he was getting at, and shook her head to get rid of the blush from Gumi squeezing her hand, and raised a red eyebrow at him, "And…?" She honestly didn't get why he was so nervous, seeing as she wasn't really posing a threat to him at all, especially since was the one to approach her first. "Wait…are you asking me out?"

Royal blue eyes widened, and Kaito nearly jumped in his seat, very close to throwing his popcorn everywhere. In the back of his mind, he could hear Rin laughing at him in the rows above him. "Not...really?" he questioned, leaning back into his seat with a sigh. She was obviously not interested, so he found no need to keep the conversation going.

Luka reached into her popcorn to throw one into her mouth, finding the exchange between Kaito and Miki pretty adorable, but saw a small upset look cross Gumi's face once in a while. She didn't know if it was from the preview showing women getting hit by the male protagonist or because she had a thing for the redhead, but felt it wasn't her problem to enter.

Ia glanced at Luka, and poked her forearm to grab her attention. With aqua eyes on her, she asked, "Why aren't you sitting with Miku-san?" It was pretty straightforward, and despite Miku's protests of them going out, she didn't really believe it judging by their expressions; Miku looked pretty upset despite talking to Yukari and Luka had a very bored look on her face.

"Huh? Well, this is how we came in…" Luka replied, oblivious to what Ia was getting at. The younger woman sighed and leaned forward to see Yukari and Miku chatting a bit, and felt a little pang in her chest at the thought of ending it. "Yukari," she whispered, waving her arm close to Luka's chest to grab her attention.

Her younger sister turned to her, "Yeah?"

Ia could see Miku's eyes fall on her, and wondered if she knew what she was planning, seeing as her small smile turned into a frown. "Switch with Luka-san, then Luka-san…switch with Miku-san."

The three stared at her like she had grown five eyes, but eventually did what she said with a bit of confusion along the way. Now, Yukari sat next to Ia, Miku next to Yukari, and Luka at the end. The artist wondered if she had bothered the girl, but received a smile and thumbs up. _She thinks we're dating too…do we really give off a couple's aura? _

"Luka-san?" Miku whispered, tilting her head to get a good look at her from the darkness. She gulped when Luka did the same, a small smile on her features, "Is it…okay…to share?"

Sighing from her cuteness and feeling her smile grow even wider, Luka nodded. "Of course, just reach when you want some, and I'll do the same."

By the time the movie started, the girls and Kaito had finally quieted down a little, Miku gulping and hoping it wasn't a horror, while others were hoping it was what they imagined.

The opening scene was that of a dark room, with two people sleeping and absolute silence. Miku reached for Luka's hand instinctively, and she almost sighed in content when the artist squeezed for more comfort. Teal eyes shut when a loud crash invaded the room, making the two sleeping characters jump; they screamed, and Miku was surprised to find they were both men, but she almost screamed in fright at seeing a floating child come into view. His eyes were pure black, and his feet hit the floor with a loud thump, almost in sync with Miku's heartbeat. Black shaggy hair stopping at the base of his neck and almost covering his dark eyes made him seem more menacing.

"Let's go play…" he said quietly, reaching a hand out to one of the men cowering on floor. The other man was laying behind him, unconscious, and with a loud _squelch_, the boy's arm shot out to grab him, a large mouth opening up to suck him in. It was thin, and brown with dark liquid spilling onto the carpet. It also looked very rough and it's mouth was large like a shark's, with sharp teeth lining up every where to grab and kill anything it got. Its body moved like a snake, and stopped at the boy's forearm.

Yukari was pale and feeling queasy already, and Ia was smiling a bit, interested and impressed with everything so far. "Aria," she called out, desperately reaching out to poke Ia's face, seeing her in a deep trance. "You like this stuff?" She flinched when the frightened man's face suddenly got covered in blood, and took a large gulp from her water bottle.

"Yeah…" Ia replied half-heartedly, eyes stuck on the screen.

Miki winced at seeing limbs and blood fall on the floor from the little boy's arm, but was surprised at seeing Gumi's exhilarated expression. _Wow…I thought she was going to be…like a crybaby or something! _

After the destroyed body of the second man had fallen to the ground, the boy's arm slid back into his shoulder, going back to a normal looking arm, and he smiled at the man, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "You have seven days, tou-san…or everyone you love is gone…" With that, he disappeared, leaving his apparent father on the floor.

The man scrambled to get up, looking around with tears on his eyes, still silent from what had just happened, and while he was turning his body for an invisible answer, red words appeared in the middle of the screen, showing the title with blood dripping off of it. Under it, smaller words said, _You'll Wish You'd Seen Tinkerbell. _

Kaito gulped, not being a huge fan of horror movies, but it also looked like it would be an action as well, seeing as there were weapons all over a room the protagonist walked through. Miki was only sitting there with her mouth agape and occasionally making a comment to Gumi with a small giggle. _At least I talked to her…_

"Hey," he heard behind him while a huge screamed escaped the speakers, making him yell from shock. Some people glanced at him and Miki smiled at him with a silent laugh, making him blush. "Did you ask?" Rin whispered in his ear after he calmed down.

He shook his head, and Rin huffed, going back to her hiding place. "Do it soon…!" she begged, feeling a little guilty at using him like this.

Kaito wished he could've found the courage to.

* * *

Near the end of the movie, Miku had her feet on the chair, fearful of anything coming out to attack her, not even caring if she was slightly flashing other people. Although it helped a little that Luka would rub her hands or shoulder and even her head to calm her down. It wasn't like Miku was the only one screaming, but if she wasn't comforted, she wouldn't look back up to the movie.

"You killed everyone, Koji…you killed your other father!"

That line made Luka cringe from the cliché use, but nonetheless she liked the movie, and gasped herself at seeing the boy's arm monster fly towards the protagonist. The boy, Koji, simply smiled with his black eyes glowing a little red from the inside. _What made him like this? _she thought, aquamarine eyes wide with excitement.

The protagonist ran toward the boy, a gun in hand as well as a knife, hoping to kill him and get rid of the monster. However, the arm snake knocked away his knife, and latched onto his arm to get rid of him, but with quick thinking he shot the thing and it reeled back in pain.

"Takeshi-tou-san…" Koji sniffled, clutching his arm to his body, black eyes staring down the man in front of him. The two were standing in an empty parking garage with another man behind Takeshi holding a sniper rifle to get Koji's head.

He sniffed a bit from anticipation, staring through the lens and smirked, "Gotcha," he whispered, pulling the trigger.

The shots were now in slow motion, and Takeshi jumped out of the way for the bullet to pierce the boy's head, but instead the monster opened it's mouth and swallowed it, making the two men smirk.

Miku shook in anticipation, wondering if it was going to explode, but jumped back when Koji's body fell to the ground, a bullet wound appearing on his head. "No way…how?!" she whispered to Luka, reaching into their popcorn bag and putting a few in her mouth.

Gumi and Miki now had their cheeks almost pressed against each other from fear, and Gumi clutched her empty nacho box at seeing blood flow out of the rifle man's neck, a knife sticking into the wall behind him as he fell. Koji wiped off the blood from his head, and stood up, moving his head in circles.

"You thought you could kill me?" he asked, pointing the monster to Takeshi with a sinister smile on his face, "I'm already dead." His eyes widened when his father pointed his own arm at him, turning into the same thing he had, one eye an equal black color.

Takeshi groaned in pain, and held his shoulder from the burning feeling, but smirked at Koji, "You thought they didn't reproduce? We're both going to die here…" At the same time, both monsters charged toward their owners, opening their mouths when a sudden black screen stopped it, and after a moment, credits rolled on the screen.

Lots of people groaned and some even cursed, standing up to leave slowly as they realized it was the end of the movie. Soft music played as the words rolled, and Miku found a strange comfort in it, as if it was telling her there was a sort of closure to the story. She gasped when the credits thinned to the right, the left showing Takeshi and Koji laying side by side, smiles on their faces. Another body, this time slightly faded and see through appeared by them, a smile on his face as well; he was the man killed in the beginning she figured out, and Miku felt a tear or two slip from her eyes. The soft music along with such a happy scene after all the events got to her.

"Are you alright?" Luka quietly asked, rubbing her shoulder. She was also on the verge of tears, but fought against it to look strong. "How'd you like it?" Luka figured asking something else would get an answer, and she smiled at Miku wiping away her tears to smile up at her.

"I loved it," she whispered, closing her eyes to let the music sink in; it was so relaxing she couldn't help feel like it was the cleanser of the movie. "Can we see another again…someday?" At this she blushed a little, mentally scolding herself for acting like such a child.

However, Luka just smiled softly and nodded, chuckling at her actions a bit, "Yeah. Whenever you have time. I'll always be open for a movie, or we could go see another one and just movie-hop."

"Th-that's…illegal," Miku countered weakly. She was horrified Luka would suggest such a thing, but it didn't seem too scary once she realized they weren't alone. "I guess?"

Luka laughed, patting the top of her hand, adoring Miku's hesitation. "We don't have to if you don't want to," she said, letting an amused glint appear in her eyes. She was also being affected by the music, and was resisting all her urges to just hug Miku for the hell of it. Before she could say anything else, Ia tapped her on her shoulder.

"So…are we going to leave?" she asked with a deadpan look. Yukari looked just as confused, and Luka wondered if they were really up to movie jumping.

"I say we go watch Immortal Paradise!" Miki suggested, jumping onto her feet with a smile on her face. Everybody turned to her with dead expressions, and Gumi shook her head excessively. She loved action movies, but not action horrors.

Miku and Luka stood, getting any garbage of theirs and started leading their group to the exit they came in from. Ia had to pull Yukari behind her, the girl unwilling to go with them if they were movie jumping, but smiling at something new.

Kaito jumped and walked behind Miki, thinking of something to say, and he ended up pulling her back before she walked out the door. "Um!"

"I knew you were going to ask me out," Miki said, crossing her arms with a smile on her face. "But…here's the thing-"

Kaito stopped her before she could say anything more, waving his hands in front of his face. "N-no! I already told you, I'm not…I just wanted to ask something." He sighed, even though he truly did, but went on with what he had to do. "Are…Hatsune-san and that woman…?"

As if finally understanding what he was saying, Miki's mouth opened, and she covered it with one of her hands, giggling a little. "Aha- nope~!" she said, shaking her head, pulling her arms behind her. "They're not dating, even though they look like it. Pedo-san may look like a pedo-san, but she's Miku-chan's friend."

"Ah…okay, then. Thanks, Miki-san." Kaito nodded at her and walked back toward the theater seats, hands in pockets and crying on the inside. _Idiot. Should've asked her out. _

Miki watched him go with a smile, and skipped through the doors to meet with curious green eyes, and everybody else gone. "Uh…?" she asked, looking around and still seeing the rest out of sight. Gumi smiled and scratched her cheek, wondering how she was going to explain this.

"They…they left?" she whispered, shuffling her feet and staring at her sneakers. It was so quick she didn't even know they were gone until nobody was at her side anymore. Although she saw Ia and Yukari running off in one direction while Luka and Miku exited the entire building. Gumi had no idea where to find them but was glad she had Miku's number.

The redhead furrowed her eyebrows, thinking about it for a second and tapping her feet against the carpeted ground. She looked up to see a furious old man staring at them, hands on his hips and already wrinkled face looking more ugly by the minute. Miki decided the best option would be to leave and find the others before they were turned in.

"Well…let's go find them then!" she said, grabbing Gumi's wrist and dragging her to the lobby where they chose to buy some water and walked out, the afternoon heat hitting them.

* * *

Miku panted against a tree, almost stuffing her face in it from her awkward standing position. She was standing, but she bent over to breathe and ended up stumbling in the position against the bark. "Wh…what?" she asked Luka, who leaned against the railing stuck into the sidewalk ahead of her.

"I'm sorry," she laughed, rubbing her arm a little, "Nothing but trouble…" She mumbled the rest and Miku shook her head with confusion on her face, approaching her. Luka didn't look at her but she didn't look upset, instead she was smiling.

The tealette stood next to her, and leaned against her shoulder like she did that morning, "Not really…I admit, though, um…the running was unexpected…but today was fun!"

Not really believing her, Luka shook her head and stared down at the water underneath them, flowing against the concrete. The two ran across the street and into a nearby park Miku didn't notice when arriving at the theater. It had a large field for sports and trees to sit under, as well as a dock for boats and a small beach ahead to hang out and go swimming.

Runners and couples passed by them, all staring at the two being so close, but they didn't really pay attention; Luka was a little depressed at her actions, while Miku was wondering what made her like that. After a few minutes of silence, Miku gulped and turned to her.

"Today…I think is the…best ever, Luka-san," she started, looking at Luka's flowing pink locks, down to her white top and tight jeans that really for some reason made her look much more pretty. "I don't think I would've…made…r-real friends, if you hadn't talked to me on Friday, so…"

In all honesty Miku had no idea what she was doing, or what she would bring in the future, but her face was incredibly red, and she leaned up to let her lips meet Luka's cheek. It took only a moment, but after pulling away she saw Luka's face burn the same color as hers, but Miku smiled at her, hands behind her back and eyes staring at the concrete with a miniscule smile.

"Would it…would it be okay to paint me n-now?" Her feet kicked the ground a little, and she felt her body sway to the side

Luka couldn't find it in her to say no, and nodded with a smile, trying to ignore the embarrassment flying to her ears. "Of…of course."

* * *

_**A/N: **_

THE MOVIE. Goodness, what were we thinking with that movie…it was pretty ridiculous, lol, but extremely enjoyable to write. Luka's rock songs were a huge, huge influence, and for the ending where the credits roll, it's IA's "Liar". Pretty calming, but we don't know what she's singing about, so we completely just added it in 'cause it sounds nice. XD Oh wait, we saw the translation...it's pretty spot on, actually...kinda. If you wanna relate the song to the movie it makes sense (family and stuff, Koji's POV), but since it's mainly about love -what Vocaloid song isn't- then it's about love...that's confusing. P:

Dat kiss! Holy crap, we said we'd delve in the romance next chapter, but decided to just have Miku kiss Luka's cheek for now. :3 At least it's something to show there _will_ be NegiToro.

Anyway, like we said up there, updates will become so much more slow once school begins, but we will definitely update, and definitely try to keep up with this (this is honestly our favorite out of all our stories….completely serious, but it's only two people here working on it, so we don't know what the others think.) while the years are going.

Hope you liked it, and we'll get to starting chapter 6 tomorrow.


	6. Special Places

_**A/N: **_

Okay, so...another update! Ehh...we don't really have much to say this time, other than...we're close to halfway done! As told before, SM will be 15 chapters, and currently it is the sixth. See? Told you the updates wouldn't be much...we apologize. ;-; The end of the year for us will definitely be very merry and happy, though we already have our New Year's Resolution: pass everything, write moar (as requested by Mini-kun!) OMG we also just noticed how most of the previous chapters start with 'C'. We FAIL.

We have more – heavy – NegiToro and a little bit of Miki/Gumi going on this chapter! Sorry if it's shorter than the rest...;~; Yes, we do have a little bit of...crying, in here?

**Disclaimer: **Everything belongs to their original owners, and we do not own a single thing.

* * *

_**StepMania**_

* * *

_**Chapter 6: Special Places**_

Luka noticed the sound of her door unlocking was so much louder than usual, and opening the door felt like opening Hell's Gate. She turned to a nervous Miku, who's eyes were everywhere but the apartment door or Luka. "Well...here it is. Sorry about the mess, I usually don't have company over," she said apologetically, suddenly conscious of the papers and empty bottles of paint littering the floor.

Her apartment wasn't as big as Miku thought it would be, instead it was about the same size as hers. The floor was wooden, and at the door she had a step so they could leave their shoes without ruining the flooring. Beyond the entrance was a small walkway that led to the spacious living room on their left, with almost no furniture except for a television on the wall and a small white sofa in the middle. There were two windows on both sides of the TV, both opened and letting air in, as well as made everything seem a little more melancholic but calm and comfortable. Behind the living room and with an open space to see past the granite counter if there were any guests, was the kitchen. Nothing was really special about it, but it was pretty small and had literally no room for more than three people. Miku could literally see only about two and a half of space between the sink and the oven on the opposite side.

"The room is this way," Luka said, pointing passed the kitchen and she started to walk down a small hallway with three doors. One Miku guessed was obviously the bathroom, right behind the kitchen to her left, the one in front of her Luka's bedroom she refused to look inside, and to her right was an open room -a guest room- with canvases and paint everywhere, as well as tarps and even models. Miku was amazed such a small looking room could hold so much stuff.

The tealette shrieked when she felt something soft brush against her leg, and looked down to see a tiny kitten run to Luka's legs, scratching a little at the woman's jeans. "You have a cat?" she asked, in awe. Miku bent over a little to get a better look at the pet, and gushed at how adorable it was. "So cute~" she cooed, reaching her hand out to pet him, at the sane time scolding herself for being so straightforward.

Luka smiled at her, and pushed her kitten closer to Miku so she could pet him, "His name is Kero. When I first moved here, I wanted something to keep me company, so I bought him from a local pet store when he was born. He's a little monster sometimes though..."

While petting him, Miku could see his eyes and noticed they were identical to hers, and she smiled. "He's really cute...I don't think you'd...uhm, l-look the type to have pets," she said, standing up and straightening herself out, "So this is where you paint everything?" She took another look around, and liked the way the room seemed to be so bright with the window opened but light curtains covering it. The breeze made them brush against Luka's mannequin, which also made a question pop up into her mind.

"What's...that for?" she asked, pointing to the white body. Even if it didn't have a face or clothing, it still looked a little creepy to her, although she'd never tell Luka that.

The artist chuckled, looking through a box in the corner for the right color of paint, "It's to model whatever I have on my mind when I paint. Let's say I want to paint a person; I don't have any real models, so...I use that as a substitute." She set down a few bottles before looking at Miku again, thinking about something before tying her hair up. "It was actually the thing I used for my first painting," she added, pointing with her chin to a canvas on the wall next to the window.

It was a man, with long purple hair and dark eyes the same color. He wore what Miku thought was a uniform for royalty, blue with yellow buttons and stars on his shoulder to show his rank, as well as a red belt and a long blade at his side. He was smirking but also had a look of courage and justice. The tealette thought it was amazing for a first, and stood gawking at it until Luka poked her shoulder with a brush.

"It's not that good..." she joked, motioning her to sit on a stool in front of her already set up canvas and seat. A small box of paint stood at her side, while a palette sat on the chair she was about to sit on, and she stopped what she was doing to look at Miku again. "Would it be a bother to have your hair down?" she asked, holding her index finger over her lips while she looked at Miku thoroughly. "I'd love to see it down rather than hidden behind you, but you can decide what you feel comfortable with."

Biting her bottom lip in nervousness, Miku shook her head, "It's not, really...w-well, if it makes the picture better..." She reached behind her and pulled the band holding her hair together, letting it flow down her back a little, with a small bump from where the band was. "Can I...?"

"Yeah, go ahead," Luka said with a smile. "I have a new brush above the toilet. It still has the cover over it, so it won't be hard to miss." She watched Miku stiffly walk out and continued preparing her things. The canvas she was using was a bit more expensive than what she usually bought, but it was for a pretty special occasion and she didn't see a problem with it, but she couldn't find any teal paint in her small box, so she walked across the room again to look for a book that had all the combinations she could think of. Flipping through the pages, she bit her lip in frustration at not finding anything. "Crap," she whispered, dropping the useless book back into the mess.

After about five minutes, Miku returned with her hair now straight and void of any bumps. One side was also draped over her left shoulder, making her look more adorable, and Luka was surprised she made such an effort to look good. "You look cute," she commented, not really paying attention to the blush on the younger girl's face from it. She was more worried about how to get the girl's hair in a right color. Blue would be awfully dark and even her sky blue was nothing compared to the girl's shiny locks. "Say," Luka started, rubbing her chin with one finger, "What color would you say you're hair color is?"

The young woman glanced to the corner of her eyes to get a look at the hair draped over her shoulders, "Eh? Um...teal, I guess?" Miku asked back, not really understanding what she meant. However, instead of saying something else, Luka got up from her small stool and walked near the door. "Luka-san?"

Smiling back at her with apology written all over it, Luka placed a hand at her hip, "Sorry. The shop I buy paint from is right down the street. Is it okay if I run out and get some paint?" She didn't want to make Miku feel uncomfortable, but she also didn't want to just use a dull color as a substitute, it would definitely ruin the picture in her eyes; she was the ultimate perfectionist when it came to her work.

Miku shook her head, playing with the hair gliding over her torso, smiling down at the tarped floor underneath her feet. Even though there was wood, she didn't really get why the woman would put a tarp to cover it. "I don't mind...a little, but...I know you have your reasons, so...go ahead." She looked up to meet Luka's eyes and smiled sincerely, knowing the artist wouldn't really take her seriously if she didn't. Miku inwardly sighed in relief when she nodded and began gathering her things, before turning to her again.

"You don't have to wait here, you can hang out in the living room, kitchen, my room...anywhere until I get back, okay? Make yourself at home," she offered before leaving in a rush, but closing the door gently. Miku could still make out her scent from the wind rushing to her face.

Taking the offer, but more carefully than Luka would've liked, she ventured through the rest of the apartment. Luka lived in the generic four apartment-styled ones, instead of a building like Miku, but it seemed more cozy and comfortable then she was willing to admit. Outside the living room window, the tealette smiled at seeing a few kids playing around, their parents carefully watching them from the porch or the railing. It seemed nobody here was the type Miku thought always lived in these: thugs that broke into others' houses and caused trouble for the sake of doing it.

It wasn't much of a view either, instead of the park she always saw on a daily basis from her room, all Miku could see was the parking lot, and the street leading into town. Although it piqued her interest more than it should've, she couldn't help feeling like the view she was getting was worth more than she usually saw. Turning around, she jumped at seeing Kero sitting on the top of the sofa, intently watching her with his bright eyes. The slight darkness in the place made his fur seem darker than it was in the light, but it also made him look more fluffy which Miku smiled at.

"So, how does living with Luka-san feel like?" she quietly asked him, walking around the couch to pick him up. He didn't mind at all, but still eyed her like she was up to no good. She gently pet him to assure him she wasn't going to hurt anybody. "I bet it's pretty nice," she added, walking down the small hallway where the rooms were. She passed the painting room and bathroom across from it, and was faced with an open door showing an incredibly dark room, blinds from the window above her headboard closed tightly.

The left corner of her room, Miku saw her sleeping computer as well as a picture frame of a teenager with red hair showing the peace sign, her other hand holding a black tube. She looked exactly like Luka, and Miku giggled at the animated face of said teenager. While not an exact match, she could see a little bit of Miki in her face, tilting her head to get a better view of her features. If it was Luka, she looked to be a rather outgoing person, showing through her facial features. She wondered what made her change to slightly dislike the general population.

Kero mewled at her to put him down which she did in an instant from fear, looking around again. This room was much more decorated than the rest of the house, with a black nightstand to the right of the bed, holding up an alarm clock, small lamp and a case that looked like it was for glasses. "Wow, she wears glasses too?" Miku whispered. Next to her door and closet was a full body mirror, with a few sticky notes on them, some having dates from last year. One of them was written in a very bright red, all capitals and in English reading, "MEET MIKU AT PARK – 8 AM." Miku blushed and shook her head, getting rid of it quickly. She slightly cursed her excelling grades in the subject.

Not wanting to intrude in her personal things, she made her way to the kitchen where a stainless steel refrigerator stood, almost tempting her to reach in and get something to quench her thirst. That, and she was sure she'd freeze and be a shy mess while being painted. She gulped, having a mental battle with herself over what was right and what wasn't. Did making herself at home mean she could get a drink, or would Luka find it incredibly rude of her? If she noticed something was missing would she get angry, or dismiss it as nothing and move on? Miku didn't know what to do, but ended up opening it anyway.

It was like looking at heaven itself. She saw soda cans to the side, stacked on top of each other so there would always be one to take, almost three large containers holding water, generic things like eggs and milk, but what surprised and confused her the most was a big red plastic container in the back, a black line scribbling out what was written on it originally. There was also a large amount of yogurt and water bottles; bags of salad and energy drinks, which meant Luka was a fitness freak. Immediately Miku admired her for being able to do things she'd never be able to do, as if she didn't already. But, once she scanned the top section, her mouth dropped.

Tuna. Lots and lots of tuna. There was so much Miku guessed Luka went and robbed every grocery store, convenience store and food bank to stock up on it for some random apocalypse. Other than a small pudding cup up there, all she could see were cans of tuna, which she guessed were either for Kero or Luka just liked tuna. A lot.

There was a freezer to the side, but she felt like she had pried enough and took one water bottle before making her way out of the kitchen. The small space still shocked her but if there was one person it was comfortable enough to move around and do simple things. Her sink was also a silver color, with no dishes in sight, all of them stored in cabinets around the fridge and over the oven.

Thinking that waiting in the living room would be better, Miku went into the pretty large space and sat herself on the white sofa, feeling her body literally sink into it. Fearful she had ruined it, she sat with her back straight and feet flat on the floor, her spine whining in protest to her rude rebellion. Kero walked from his food and water bowl near the kitchen's entrance and climbed back to the top of the couch, curling into a little ball before closing his eyes. Miku smiled softly and leaned back a little to scratch his back. He lifted his head to meet her eyes then went back to his original position, falling asleep to the feel of soft, fearful but comfortable fingers rubbing his fur.

Seeing him fall asleep made Miku a bit drowsy, and with a small sip of her water she forgot about her fear of ruining Luka's couch to relax until said artist got back.

* * *

"Oh my god..." Yukari panted, feeling sick all over again. Luckily they were underneath some shade instead of running around like crazy; she could feel her legs do some rough breathing of their own, and her shoes were ruined on the bottom. "Aria, you jerk..."

Ia leaned against the brick wall, not caring if the employee inside the bakery was staring at her, and looked down at her sister, who was glaring at her. "Now we can't go to the theater!" Yukari yelled, smacking the other girl's shoulder weakly in her attempt to gain her breath back. To make it worse, Ia simply smiled and shrugged.

Hiding her joy from getting rid of Yukari's depression, Ia stroked her hair softly, "I'm sorry. I can be a total ass at times, but hey...you're not worried about Cul-san anymore, are you?" Bringing it up made one of two things happen usually; one, Yukari would remember and go back to her depressed state, or two, she would agree and think about what made her sad. Ia hoped for option two.

Pushing the girl's hand from her face, Yukari nodded, and shuffled her feet against the concrete, making way for anybody who was walking by. "If she wants to push me away for what I am, let her," she mumbled, rubbing her purple-sleeved arm, "It's not my fault I'm not her type..."

Ia clicked her tongue loud enough for the younger Yuzuki to hear her, and almost slapped herself if it weren't for the girl's shocked gaze. "What?" she asked quickly, averting her eyes to the blue sky just waiting to bathe them in sunlight. She'd have to remember to take her sister somewhere from her small stunt at the theater.

"Are you...trying to get me and Cul-san separated!?" Yukari burst out, red in the face from anger and embarrassment. She didn't dare look at Ia in the eyes, hoping what she had just assumed wasn't true. Although from her gaze being on the concrete ground and constantly switching, she could clearly see her sister's sneakers drag a little to make herself look shy and anxious. "You are...I can't believe you, Aria!"

Cerulean eyes rolled a little, staring at the sky again to figure out what she was going to explain, even though she had _nothing_ to explain to Yukari. What she was doing was far from trying to get in the way of her happiness!

"Oh yeah, I want you to suffer and live with cats for all eternity Yukari. Why should you dwell and cry over someone who rejected your lifestyle? That's not someone I approve of, but I'd never try to get you to change who you love because I don't like them."

With a huff, Yukari looked back up to see honesty and apology in her sister's eyes, and shook her head, "So all day you've just been...?"

"Of course I've been just teasing you. I currently have no love life, but I'd never be able to stoop so low as to go after...well, _you_," Ia replied nonchalantly, pulling Yukari off the wall before the manager came out to scream at them about standing in the window and blocking the passersby view of his _wonderful_ store. He was staring at them like a piece of meat, but held annoyance in his gaze. Yukari could only stare at her like she was retarded.

The two walked a little more down the road, passing by business men and women, kids hanging out with their friends and various mini shops. It was only before passing a certain alley that had hidden stores that Ia stopped Yukari from going further, pointing to the side. "Let's go in here for a while," she said, tugging on her sleeve. The younger girl frowned and shook her head, a sort of fear in her eyes; Ia felt hurt that her sister didn't trust her. "I know a few friends who work around here, they'd never let us get hurt, I promise you."

"How do I know you're not scheduling a gang rape?" Yukari challenged in a playful tone, taking a few steps to look around. Ia didn't respond, instead opting to pull her in without another weird conversation. She'd been here many times, and knew almost every vendor hidden in here, as well as the perfect one to completely cheer her sister up.

* * *

Luka breathed against the streetlight, feeling her legs go numb. She really, _really_ hadn't meant for her small talk with an old friend go from small to lengthy. That, and she had to spend one hour waiting for the perfect teal color to be brought out from the back of her usual shop. Thankful she didn't have to pay for it, she ran for it as if her place was on fire, hoping to every and all Gods that Miku was still waiting for her. Luka checked her watch for the fifth time and it lit up after changing to three forty-five. "Oh no," she huffed, walking across the street and not caring about the signal changes. A few cars honked at her in annoyance but she didn't care.

No doubt had Miku left, waiting almost two hours for someone she didn't really know that well? Nobody was that patient. Luka breathed heavily, her palms sweaty and the bottle of teal paint slippery in her right hand.

Finally after what seemed like days, Luka saw her apartment building come into view. Without a thought she ran for it again, skipping a step to reach her place and almost threw her keys on the ground in frustration after she couldn't find the right one. Today was definitely the day she'd regretted not having a car.

When her door finally unlocked with another audible click and opened, Luka froze. Despite being in a rush, there had only been two things on her mind to see when she got back; one, was Miku calmly sitting in her living room watching TV, in her room or paint room, and two, a dark, empty apartment with her cat sleeping where he usually napped.

Not Miku wearing an apron and presenting her cat with a small plate of fancy cooked tuna.

Both occupants turned their heads to the sweaty artist, her hand on the doorknob and one foot stuck in mid air. Kero sat there with a bored look on his face he always had when she came home, while Miku had a fiery red color etched on her skin.

Seeing her flushed face and happy that she had stayed, Luka decided one last tease wouldn't hurt. "Oh ho, what's this?" she asked, taking off her shoes and bending her legs to get the wobbliness out of her system. A smirk painted her lips, while Miku's resembled a sea during a thunderstorm. "Getting quite friendly with him, aren't you?"

Miku stepped away from Kero and his food like they had just insulted her, and nervously rocked back on her heels, making sure to get out of Luka's vision and lean on the oven for support. There was a small stand between the counter top where the sink was and the actual counter, and Miku was glad it was there to cover up the ten cans of tuna that sat opened and empty. Luka might not be mad for her giving Kero the food, but she might get mad at her for wasting so much...

"I'm sorry," she whispered, seeing the artist lean against the kitchen doorway, only a few inches away from seeing the cans. Miku could already hear Luka's angered voice directed at her, yelling at her for being such a nuisance. "I didn't...mean to use so- so many! B-but since there was so much I didn't think it'd be a problem so I guess I just thought that it would be okay which I know it's totally not and I know you're probably mad at me by now but I just saw someone make it on TV after a nap- I'm sorry! I took a nap on your couch too and I probably screwed it up anyway so-"

"Miku, honey, breathe please," Luka said in concern, walking out of the doorway and grabbing her by her shoulders to stop her rambling. The younger girl did as she was told and let out a huge breath that was necessary for her to continue...which Luka was determined not to let happen. Her eyes glanced at the cans of open tuna and could see where Miku was coming from, although it was a silly thing to freak out for. However, this was Miku and she didn't want to see another train of tears from her.

"I'm not mad," she started slowly, letting Miku process the words. Although it was hard herself to focus on anything while said tealette was wearing her apron, in her kitchen and with her hair down...Luka shivered a little, but went on with a smile, "Tuna at the store I buy it at is really cheap. When I say cheap, I mean like...Cup Noodle ramen cheap. It's no problem, all...chefs, go through a lot of food when preparing stuff."

Miku blushed and looked to the ground, relieved she wasn't going to be in trouble for, in Luka's opinion, such a petty reason.

"To be honest...I can't cook for my life anyway. Did you see what I have in that fridge? Only easy to prepare stuff, or prepackaged stuff I just heat up in the microwave," Luka confessed with her own blush, stepping away from Miku to scratch her cheek. "I don't go to restaurants either, you know how I dislike people, so I don't know...what to make, you know?" She laughed and turned to the side to lean on the counter where the empty cans were.

The younger girl smiled and shook her head at Luka, then stared at Kero with the not touched and cooling plate of tuna. "Wanna...try that, then? He's...he's not eating it so maybe..." Her voice left her and suddenly she felt a small pang of betrayal hit her chest. It was a silly reason, but she shook it off and reached to grab the plate when her hand collided into Luka's.

Her face went hot and suddenly the room seemed like a furnace. They had only bumped hands, not kissed, but she noticed how Luka was staring at her strangely and felt her back collide into the refrigerator in a weak attempt to put some space in between them. "I'm...I'm sorry..."

Luka raised an eyebrow and put down the plate in front of her, crossing her arms to hide her shaking self. Miku looked so adorable: her forehead was peppered in sweat from being nervous and her chest was heaving – she assumed it was from heat – but she couldn't hold back anymore and went in to embrace her.

"Ah!" Miku squeaked, not sensing the hug coming. Luka's arms were holding her tight so she couldn't wriggle out of her hold but it wasn't uncomfortable. She was warm and smelled slightly of paint, but it fit her so Miku lifted her suddenly heavy arms to clutch the back of her shirt. It went on for a few minutes and the tealette suddenly realized she was crying; at first she didn't feel the tears but the salty substance fell off her cheeks and onto her neck, making her jolt. She thought about how she had overreacted and made a big deal over things people normally wouldn't. Miku wondered how Luka had dealt with her the past few days.

"It's alright," Luka suddenly assured her, rubbing circles on her back in comfort. Her eyes closed, not wanting to see Miku's face at the moment. It was an awful thing to see such an innocent girl cry, especially someone like Miku. It wasn't fair.

"I hate," Miku sobbed, finally letting loose all of her inner demons. She clutched onto Luka tighter, wanting her mere presence to make her feel better even though she knew it was only going to dull the pain. "I hate being so shy and awkward...I ha-hate myself because I can't ma-make friends..."

It was a secret of hers, but Luka always ended up crying when others teared up in front of her. She could feel the sting in her eyes but held back; crying now would only make things worse, and she needed to calm Miku down before things got ugly. "You made friends," she stated.

She stayed silent, her crying having alerted Kero enough to sit on the sink with a glare in his eyes directed at Luka for no reason. "On...online ones, they don't count," Miku countered, shaking her head into Luka's shoulder. "Nobody outside of the internet wants to be my friend. Not even Rin-chan, she just...she just uses me for...for tests and qui-quizzes...!"

Luka shook her head as well, clutching Miku tighter against her, teal locks brushing her arms softly. She remembered that she needed to paint before Miku had to go home, but suddenly, she knew it would have to wait for another day. "Don't think about them then," she said, running her hands through Miku's hair. It was as soft as it looked, and she had to keep doing it to soothe them both, otherwise Luka herself would end up shedding tears. "Those kinds of people aren't people, they're awful things I call scum. People like Iroha, Cul-san, Gumi...they're friends."

"Me, too," Luka added, nodding to emphasize. "I'm your friend."

All Miku could do was nod.

* * *

"Man, what the hell?!" Miki yelled, kicking her foot against the table's base. She and Gumi had been out most of the afternoon looking for any sign of their other friends, but came up empty-handed. Eventually they got hungry and settled into a small cafe where the redhead was beginning to take out her anger on anything inanimate. The employees didn't seem to mind, except for their hostess, who was glaring daggers at Miki.

Gumi slouched in her seat and played with her menu, nothing looking too appetizing. It wasn't due to the stares they were getting, but for that familiar blue popping up in the corner. At first she didn't think it was suspicious that someone with blue hair passed by them on their way out of the park; waiting outside of a bathroom was a little weird, but now...she knew they were being followed and it was beginning to scare her.

"Seriously, why is it so hard to find people in this small city?"

"I don't think it's...small..." Gumi uttered, playing around with the corners of the neatly laminated papers. She glanced upwards at Miki and gulped, not wanting to endanger herself and say the wrong things. "Just, uhh...cluttered."

Their waitress happily bounced over to them, her long ponytail swishing around behind her on its own and captivating the green-haired girl until she spoke. "What would you like this afternoon ladies?" she asked cheerfully, pulling out a small pack of notes. Iroha was about to comment on Miki's similarities to Cul, but found it would be inappropriate to do so since they didn't know each other.

"A plain turkey sandwich for me and pink lemonade please. No cheese on the fries either," Miki asked, handing back her menu to the cheery waitress.

Her golden eyes suddenly turned onto Gumi with patience and she found her face buried within the menu, scanning everything until a something hit her eye.

"U-um...can I get a..." she glanced wearily at Miki and looked back down, "Grilled chicken sandwich with baked ciabatta bread?" Her eyes fell to the beverages that were luckily on the bottom of the page, "With a...erm, a...just water, please..." Gumi sighed and didn't look up from the table as their waitress nodded and took their menus. Within seconds she was already gone and in the kitchen, to their confusion.

Miki giggled, lightly pressing her shoe's toe to Gumi's leg. "Have you ever been to a restaurant before, Gumi-chan?" A light shake of her head sent another red flag in her mind, and she shook her head as well, "How do you order lunch at school?"

Gumi blushed and meekly looked up, pressing her hands between her thighs to prevent them from fidgeting. "Er, my fingers...I – well, I sort of...just show them the number I want, and...yeah..."

_She's too cute...too cute for her own good. _Miki thought, nodding at Gumi's explanation. "I guess that works. Better than having to shout out what you want over the noise..." The two shared a small laugh and spent a few more minutes talking, Miki trying to get the other girl to loosen up more, and succeeding. However, two people walking by caught Gumi's attention and she turned to Miki to say something, but found her seat empty.

By then, Miki was already shouting from the doors, making the two enter with small protests from Yukari, and Ia making a slightly nervous face.

"Are they with you?" Cul asked without looking, flipping through a magazine. It was clearly something she wasn't supposed to be doing, but their cat-like waitress didn't seem to mind at all. Miki nodded even though she wasn't sparing them a glance and dragged Yukari to their table, making her sit in the seat next to Gumi.

The two exchanged a strange, awkward greeting again and Ia shook her head, slipping into the seat across from her sister. "I'm not very hungry right now..." she muttered, entwining her fingers together and resting her elbows on the table. "But you go ahead, Yukari." Her unique colored eyes stared at the redhead lounging at her podium, slightly angry that she made no move to even bring them menus.

"Ah! More guests," Iroha said while bringing their drinks. Her small tail-like hair whipped the air, as if happy she'd be serving more people. Her small notepad was out again, and she smiled at the two that avoided looking up. "What would you like?"

Yukari stuttered in her answer, but managed a small, "What she's having," whilst pointing at Gumi, even though she had no idea what the other girl had ordered. Ia nodded, indicating she also wanted the same. Her eyes looked over Iroha, taking in her peach colored hair and warm golden eyes, then taking a risk and going a bit lower, noting her lack of a...chest. She visibly colored and shook her head, looking away and thanking all the deities that nobody had noticed.

Iroha nodded and scribbled down what she remembered, then bounded off into the kitchen once more, this time much more faster than before. Yukari blinked, and turned her head back to the table, purple eyes staring at the small bundle of utensils in front of her. "She's here," she whispered to Ia, her thumbs wrestling. "I can't, Ia...not even what Piko-kun says will help and we know it." It was strange, saying her sister's nickname directly to her; she knew Ia didn't like having others know it, but she was used to calling her Aria. Yukari would definitely need to work on her sister's walls.

"Wait a minute, you met my brother?" Miki asked curiously, playing with her straw. She resisted diving into her delicious drink since she'd end up getting full before their food even got there. "He's such a weirdo isn't he?"

Ia smiled a bit, remembering their banter with the boy. During their walk through the alley shops, they stopped by a small store with many interesting gadgets but were stopped by none other than Piko, who declared they would be wasting their money on material "love-love items". To say the shopkeeper was upset would be an understatement.

In the end he gave them advice on how to conquer such a silly banter then disappeared within a crowd, although his ahoge was clearly seen through it.

"Yes, he is," she commented, leaning against her arm. She stared at Yukari who was on the verge of being sick _once again_ and decided the time to confront the issue was not when Cul was working; she respected those lines and would wait until Yukari felt better physically. "Anyway, did you two find Miku and Luka-san yet?"

The two shook their heads and Ia sighed. While her main concern was with her sister's problems, she wondered just what the relationship was between the two; certainly more than just friends, but obviously less than lovers or even girlfriends. Not to mention how much older Luka was...

"I...I have her number..." Gumi whispered, lifting up her phone to cover her face a little bit. Everyone was silent for a moment and could easily hear the preparations being made in the kitchen.

Miki shook her head and slapped her forehead, although refraining from saying anything from how adorably idiotic Gumi was. Suddenly she was leaning over the table and smiling brightly at confused green eyes. "Then what are you waiting for?! Call her!"

Ia wondered once more if what they were doing was such a good idea, but was also curious as to the whereabouts of the two. Of course, she was nobody to pry into others' love lives, but she was human so curiosity came with it. "Maybe a text would be better, considering..."

"Y-yeah!" Gumi quickly agreed, nodding to Ia's plan. Even if they were prying, it was too late once she hit _send_.

* * *

_**A/N:**_

Err...tahdah? Hopefully that makes up for the long wait! Sorry if we made anybody frustrated with us, you know how life is...plus, Thanksgiving is coming up! It'll be the first one we've celebrated as an actual team! Last year was a bit awkward since, well, we were pretty much a bit new to all this...

Anyway, enough with our lame blubbering! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and yes the romance will be turned up a notch next time. Look forward to it!

And remember...review and/or PM us about how we're doing! We love suggestions and hearing from you guys is the best. :) See you next time in most likely a new one-shot or unlikely update...it depends on what we're working on at the moment. xD


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